Author’s Corner: Socorro Acioli

Saludos todos! This week we are taking the time to feature author Socorro Acioli, writer of this month’s featured book, The Head of the Saint, and the topic of our April book group meeting. Like with our previous authors, we take this time to feature the breadth of the author’s collective oeuvre, as well as the more personal aspects of her life.

Socorro Acioli is a Brazilian author who holds a Master’s degree in Brazilian literature and is currently pursuing her PhD in Literary Studies at the Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro. Although Aciolo’s literary career as a novelist and children’s book author is relatively new, she has already garnered worldwide recognition and prestige. She has lectured internationally and was a visiting researcher at the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany. Acioli also took part in a workshop called ‘How to tell a tale’at the San Antonio de Los Banõs International Film and Television School in Cuba. The workshop was conducted by Nobel Prize-winning author, Gabriel García Márquez. Márquez chose Acioli himself to be a participant in the workshop based on her recent work The Head of the Saint.

Acioli is a highly prolific author, but her books have only recently been translated into English. The Head of the Saint is Alcioli’s first book to be translated into English for publication. The book has been lauded for its stunning use of magic realism, a literary genre that Garcia Marquez was best known for. The genre of magic realism, often closely associated with Latin American literature in general, usually incorporates magical, surrealist narrative elements into the “real world” setting of the book. As always, the impact of The Head of the Saint reminds us of how important translators are in exposing us to the stunning works of authors from around the world.

For those of you interested in learning more about Alcioli, here are some additional links:

• The Art of Saving a Life, poem by Alcioli
• Socorro Acioli’s Twitter page

Hasta pronto!

Alice

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