The Bank of Brazil Cultural Center and The Brazilian Academy of Literature will present Dec. 9-10, 1997, a tribute to one of the most creative minds of Brazilian Literature, Clarice Lispector (1920-77).

Clarice Lispector, a short story writer and novelist, was born in the Ukraine in 1920, and moved to Brazil with her parents one year later. She was acclaimed for her spare lyricism much in the manner of the contemporary French "nouveau Roman". Lispector had a vigorously active mind, creating both curiosity and compassion, a contemplative brain energized by close observation of her world.

From 1967 to 1973 she worked as a journalist in the Jornal do Brasil, Rio´s leading newspaper, and on Manchete Brazilian TV Station. In 1967 she tragically lost her right hand, as a result of a fire in her apartment in Rio. Clarice Lispector died of cancer of the uterus on December 9, 1977.

Among others, Lispector´s best-known works are: 1960 Family Ties (Lacos de Familia) which includes the often authologized The Crime of the Mathematics Professor; the allegorical nightmarish novels 1961 The Apple in the Dark (A Maca no Escuro) and 1964 Passion According to G.H. (A Paixao Segundo G.H.); 1971 Live Water (Agua Viva) and 1977 The Time of the Star (A Hora da Estrela).

The Clarice Lispector Tribute includes: The presentation of Invented Truth (A Verdade Inventada), a monologue by Lucia Marya Lima, based on interviews and literary scripts written by Clarice Lispector. Brazilian TV and Theatre veteran actress Araci Balabanian plays Lispector - December 9,1997 at The Bank of Brazil Cultural Center Theatre in Rio de Janeiro at 5PM and 7PM.

Brazilian poets Affonso Romano de Santana and Maria Colassanti lead conferences and debates about the novelist and her impeccable work - December 10,1997 at The Brazilian Academy of Literature in Rio de Janeiro.

For Information call 021 216 0626 at The Bank of Brazil Cultural Center Theatre, Rio de Janeiro.

-- By Nertutila Achao

Brazil Correspondent