Living with Poetry

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Letizia

There’s a great bookstore chain I visit when I go to São Paulo, Brazil called Livraria da Vila.

What draws you in at first are the front doors themselves which are giant rotating bookshelves:

bookstore photos from livrariadavila.com.br

But the stores inside are great too….

The last time I was there, I picked up this book of poetic thoughts by Mario Quintana called Para viver com poesia (‘To live with poetry’- my translation).

As today is World Poetry Day, I offer you little snippets from the book with my rough translation:

“As crianças não brincam de brincar. Brincam de verdade….” (Children do not play at playing. They play for real.)

“O mistério faz parte da beleza.” (Mystery is part of beauty.)

“Um dia de chuva é bom para a gente comprar livros de poemas…” (A rainy day is a good day for us to buy poetry books…..)

Good advice!

Happy World Poetry Day!

91 thoughts on “Living with Poetry”

Jilanne Hoffmann on March 21, 2013 at 2:59 pm said:

Oh my, what a gorgeous bookstore! I will have to share this with my husband and friends. They will love the design—and the poetry, of course. I’m looking forward to April bringing showers of poetry in the U.S. Thanks for an early taste!

My 9-yr-old son is doing his “Global Village” project on Paraty, Brazil. I believe it’s just to the northeast of São Paulo on the coast. Are you familiar with the area?

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- Letizia on March 21, 2013 at 4:30 pm said:
  
  I went to Paraty as a young child so don’t remember much, but it’s a beautiful place. Hopefully, you can bring your son there one day! What a fun project for him to be involved in!
  
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Naomi on March 21, 2013 at 3:06 pm said:

Incredible when the store is poetry itself. Thanks for sharing.

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- Letizia on March 21, 2013 at 4:31 pm said:
  
  Poetic architecture – I love that 🙂 What a wonderful way of thinking of it!
  
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Roger on March 21, 2013 at 3:28 pm said:

As crianças não brincam de brincar. Brincam de verdade….Gostei muito!

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- Letizia on March 21, 2013 at 4:33 pm said:
  
  É a verdade, não? 🙂
  
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rossmurray1 on March 21, 2013 at 3:38 pm said:

Beautiful pics, beautiful words.

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- Letizia on March 21, 2013 at 4:34 pm said:
  
  Don’t you just love a good bookstore?
  
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G Hoxsey on March 21, 2013 at 3:40 pm said:

I am taking my 2 yr old granddaughter to a book store this afternoon to pick out some new books. Her response yesterday when I announced our plan was …her words …Awesome. It should be fun.
Love your pictures L.

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- Letizia on March 21, 2013 at 4:36 pm said:
  
  What a fantastic reaction! I bet the two of you are going to have so much fun and come out of the bookstore with a bag full of books 🙂
  
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  - G Hoxsey on March 26, 2013 at 1:08 am said:
    
    We did!
    
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    - Letizia on March 27, 2013 at 11:42 am said:
      
      🙂
      
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T. W. Dittmer on March 21, 2013 at 3:42 pm said:

We do play for real. 🙂

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- Letizia on March 21, 2013 at 4:38 pm said:
  
  Definitely! 🙂
  
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Sheila on March 21, 2013 at 4:21 pm said:

We should always be surrounded with walls and doors of books! I love those lines: “Children do not play at playing. They play for real.” Really so true, but I never thought of it that way before, which is one of the wonderful things about poetry – that chance to see everything differently. Happy Poetry Day!

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- Letizia on March 21, 2013 at 4:40 pm said:
  
  That line immediately grabbed my attention when I first skimmed the book. You are so right, poetry does help us see things in a new light. Happy Poetry Day to you!
  
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Tom Gething on March 21, 2013 at 4:21 pm said:

Great bookstore! Gotta hand it to Brazilian architects for doing things right!

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- Letizia on March 21, 2013 at 4:42 pm said:
  
  So true! And those doors are so cool, aren’t they? Even when one of the bookstores is in a mall, it still stands out and still manages to be beautiful because of the doors.
  
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JackieP on March 21, 2013 at 4:46 pm said:

Oh my, just let me wander around that store for a few weeks, I’ll be quite content 🙂

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- Letizia on March 21, 2013 at 4:49 pm said:
  
  It’s so inviting, isn’t it? 🙂
  
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Rick Mallery on March 21, 2013 at 5:11 pm said:

Thanks so much for the photos. It looks like an amazing bookstore! 🙂 Funny, but as I looked at the photos, I could smell the room. I doubt it’s the authentic smell, but I certainly had a pleasant olfactory reaction based on what I imagine it smells like.

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 9:04 am said:
  
  How fascinating that you had an olfactory reaction to the photos! I don’t remember the smell if those particular bookstores but I do love the smell of bookstores in general 🙂
  
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vsperry on March 21, 2013 at 5:15 pm said:

I LOVE bookstores. This one is so visually appealing, it would take me a while to even get close enough to look at the books! But then I would have to look for a long time and plan to ship a bunch home.

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 12:41 pm said:
  
  Shipping the books home is a good idea! I always love spending time in one of these bookstores, even if my Portuguese isn’t perfect yet!
  
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  - vsperry on March 22, 2013 at 1:54 pm said:
    
    My Portuguese is non existent…I would go for books with pretty pictures. 🙂
    
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    - Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:54 pm said:
      
      That works too!
      
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diannegray on March 21, 2013 at 5:25 pm said:

What an absolutely amazing bookstore, Letizia! I want to go there 😉

This is beautiful – “Children do not play at playing. They play for real” 😀

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 12:42 pm said:
  
  Isn’t that a great passage? Brazilians have a wonderful way with words 🙂
  
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memyselfandkids.com on March 21, 2013 at 5:40 pm said:

Happy world poetry day to you as well.
The book store looks really cool.

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 12:43 pm said:
  
  Thanks! It’s always fun to discover new bookstores 🙂
  
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Clanmother on March 21, 2013 at 5:49 pm said:

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I felt I was there with you!!!

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 12:51 pm said:
  
  I knew you would appreciate and honor World Poetry Day! I’m so happy you liked the photographs of the bookstores 🙂
  
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  - Clanmother on March 22, 2013 at 5:09 pm said:
    
    I wanted to be Alice and go through the looking glass (computer screen). The best place in the world to be is in a bookstore!!!
    
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    - Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:55 pm said:
      
      Yes! Falling deeper and deeper into the hole until you end up in the bookstore… that’s a journey I’d happily take as well 🙂
      
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leapingtracks on March 21, 2013 at 6:09 pm said:

What a brilliant store. What a beautiful cover on the poetry book you bought – and how apt that it should be a picture of the merry-go-round to match the bookcases in the entrance of the shops! Fabulous post, thanks.

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:23 pm said:
  
  I hadn’t made the connection between the book cover and the revolving doors; how wonderfully clever! 😀
  
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Francoise on March 21, 2013 at 7:44 pm said:

I didn’t know it was World Poetry day on the first day of Spring…….
What a beautiful bookshop! Para bens para os Brasileiros para tener lugares tan lindos para os libros. When I think that most of them are closing in NY!!!
I love the yellow stairs and the doors like bookshelves and the round bookshelves..! And of course the poems…
A great way to start Spring!

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:25 pm said:
  
  It’s true, it is a wonderful way to start Spring and a new year of poetry and of nature waking up after this long winter- how lovely to think of that!
  
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Frances antoinette on March 22, 2013 at 1:20 am said:

I love these photos….and all I thought Brazil was for taking photos of was the nature and the men 😉

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:27 pm said:
  
  Hahahahaha! 😀 Well, Sao Paulo doesn’t have much nature, but it does have bookstores ….and men, of course! 😉
  
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caro is spicy on March 22, 2013 at 3:28 am said:

How beautiful! I’ve never seen a bookshop designed like that before; it really does give the sense of entering a world of reading. And a rainy day is always good for reading.

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:39 pm said:
  
  Yes, some of their bookstores are quite beautiful inside. I like your phrase ‘entering a world of reading’ – lovely!
  
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Gallivanta on March 22, 2013 at 5:52 am said:

What a novel idea for a book store; no pun intended really. I was simply lost for words to express my amazement at this book store.

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:41 pm said:
  
  When you think about it, it’s amazing we haven’t seen bookshelf-doors before for a bookstore! It’s really a great idea, you’re right.
  
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Britt Skrabanek on March 22, 2013 at 8:03 am said:

Hands down, that’s the most beautiful bookstore I’ve ever seen! I would have to be physically removed from a heavenly place like that.

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:45 pm said:
  
  I love browsing the books there (and I don’t even read Portuguese with the greatest ease!) but some of their stores (the photos are a collection of different stores) are quite heavenly, you’re right, Britt!
  
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vsvevg on March 22, 2013 at 9:29 am said:

I am in love with your blog Letizia, the concept, the photos, the art, the books you show me. Thank you.

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:47 pm said:
  
  That is the sweetest, loveliest thing to say; thank you! 🙂 And coming from a wonderful artist and writer, it means all the more to me!
  
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danniehill on March 22, 2013 at 9:48 am said:

Beautiful place and beautiful chosen words from a true poet! Thank you, Letizia.

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:49 pm said:
  
  I’m so delighted it moved you, Dannie! Hope you had a wonderful Poetry Day, you master and lover of words 🙂
  
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Christy Birmingham on March 22, 2013 at 11:10 am said:

I do love the photos of the amazing bookstore! I really like the atmospheres of the stores as much as the books – and good ‘people watching’ often too 🙂

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:52 pm said:
  
  That’s true, Christy; it IS fun to people-watch in bookstores! People get so involved in searching for and reading books that they forget they are in public at times and get so comfortable. Perhaps that is why there are sofas in some stores!
  
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TBM on March 22, 2013 at 11:11 am said:

I must go to that store!

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 6:53 pm said:
  
  I think the chain only exists in Sao Paulo, but it will be waiting for you on one of your next travels!
  
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chalkdustfairy on March 22, 2013 at 8:14 pm said:

I could die in a bookstore, any bookstore, but that one would be like dying and going to heaven. 🙂

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- Letizia on March 22, 2013 at 9:41 pm said:
  
  Paradise is a bookstore, that is true!
  
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Long Life Cats and Dogs on March 23, 2013 at 3:59 am said:

What an utterly fabulous store. Wish we had something like that here.

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- Letizia on March 23, 2013 at 9:26 am said:
  
  It’s a great chain of book stores (some are bigger than others, but they all have those cool doors!). I know, I wish my town had more bookstores too… sigh….
  
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Browsing the Atlas on March 23, 2013 at 8:41 am said:

What gorgeous design! This would be like walking into heaven. If they have comfortable chairs there, too, I’d probably never leave.

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- Letizia on March 23, 2013 at 9:27 am said:
  
  I can’t remember seeing any armchairs or sofas, but if they do, people would never leave, that’s so true. Each of their stores is a little different but it’s a fun chain!
  
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Roy McCarthy on March 23, 2013 at 3:31 pm said:

Comfy chairs & coffee. Then surely no one would dare leave without buying a book. Surely if bookstores like this can still turn a profit then the future of print books is safe.

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- Letizia on March 23, 2013 at 7:56 pm said:
  
  You’re right, Roy, bookstores like these celebrate the printed word and remind us of the beauty of books as objects.
  
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walterdoege on March 23, 2013 at 4:15 pm said:

the needed poetry for daily living…I don’t like São Paulo city, so big, almost only done of edifices and builts. But Livraria da Vila is one of my pleasant visits when I travel to that city. I like bookstores, but I love librairies. You picked up the work of Mario Quintana. He lived his almost entire life in Porto Alegre, where I live. I could talk with him sometimes, he was so elderly!, and lived in a hotel!, at downtown. I could mention other writers, but I want to place some writing and poems of the so dear and lovely Mario. “Comunicação”…”O público ledor (existe mesmo!), é sensorial: quer ter um autor ao vivo, em carne e osso. Quando este morre, há uma queda de popularidade em termos de venda. Ou, quando teatrólogo, em termos de espetáculo. Um exemplo: G. B. Shaw. E, entre nós, o suave fantasma de Cecília Meireles recém está se materializando, tantos anos depois. Isto apenas vem provar que a leitura é um remédio para a solidão em que vive cada um de nós neste formigueiro. Claro que não me estou referindo a essa vulgar comunicação festiva e efervescente. Porque o autor escreve, antes de tudo, para expressar-se. Sua comunicação com o leitor decorre unicamente daí. Por afinidades. É como, na vida, se faz um amigo”…and, “Da Comunicação Imediata”…”Para o perfeito leitor, a palavra “árvore” não significa uma árvore: a palavra “árvore” é uma árvore”, and, “Sonho”…”Um poema em que não se notasse nem a suspeita ênfase da simplicidade e que, ao lê-lo, nem sentirias que ele já estivesse escrito, mas que fosse brotando, no mesmo instante, de teu próprio coração”. I transcribed from the book “Da Preguiça Como Método de Trabalho”, ed. Globo (1987). That last writing remembered me our conversation about dream and dreamer, dream and whose write the dream. I can write a dream. That writing is no more the dream itself. Mario Quintana used to write short paragraphs, most of the poetic work is free verse. Letizia, thanks for share. I appreciate your work so much. Your work is important for a better world, a better living. Congratulations. Another important post. Another important share of your work, your oeuvre, your fine écriture. All the best! Walter

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- Letizia on March 24, 2013 at 2:56 pm said:
  
  Isso e tao interessante que voce mora na mesma cidade que ele e falou com ele! Eu so tenho este livro um dos seus, mas eu adoro le-lo – Eu amo o jeito que ele escreve, e isso nao e muito dificil para mim entender, mesmo com meu Português limitada.
  
  Muito obrigada por incluir parte do outro livro! Eu gosto especialmente as linhas:”Um poema em que não se notasse nem a suspeita ênfase da simplicidade e que, ao lê-lo, nem sentirias que ele já estivesse escrito, mas que fosse brotando, no mesmo instante, de teu próprio coração”
  
  Eu sempre gosto de seu comentarios, Walter!
  
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heylookawriterfellow on March 23, 2013 at 5:10 pm said:

I just got a storegasm.

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- Letizia on March 23, 2013 at 7:56 pm said:
  
  Ha! ;D
  
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Doris on March 23, 2013 at 6:14 pm said:

Oh my god I love this post, I have to add this place to my list of place to visit, it is a dream! Perfect book and quotes for poetry, I going to look for that book going to book store see if I can find it ;).

P.S. I miss this post I think is my reader…it makes me mad, but got here. We should celebrate words every day!

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- Letizia on March 23, 2013 at 7:57 pm said:
  
  It’s a wonderful little book with so many interesting thoughts on poetry and life in general – I hope you find it!
  
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Samir on March 24, 2013 at 5:26 am said:

Wow! What a store…

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- Letizia on March 24, 2013 at 2:57 pm said:
  
  It’s a great chain!
  
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Tatsat on March 24, 2013 at 1:32 pm said:

Had I not come across people like you, I would have been happily basking in all-what-I-have-seen 😉
What an amazing place to be! Being at a bookshop brings out the child in us- the way we as kids used to be excited about visiting an eatery or a library, and if the bookstore is as innovative as this- wow ! This should definitely be on the places-to-visit-before-I-turn-40 list 🙂 Adorable. All thanks to you…

And poetry 🙂 Ohh well… I watched The Dead Poets Society as a kid who did not know English language at all. Have been in love with English, and poetry ever since.

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- Letizia on March 24, 2013 at 2:59 pm said:
  
  You are so right, Tatsat; visiting a beautiful bookstore feels just like visiting a candy store when I was a little child! 🙂 That is the perfect comparison. You just want to gobble up everything in sight!
  
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Claire 'Word by Word' on March 24, 2013 at 3:14 pm said:

Doors are the new shelves, I love it! What bliss. Homes for books, even if temporary can be so beautiful.

I was just making a virtual tour yesterday of the beautiful library in Bangor, Maine after reading that Stephen King and his wife have donated £3m towards it’s renovation, nothing like this, but what a wonderful environment to spend time with books.

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- Letizia on March 24, 2013 at 3:48 pm said:
  
  I will have to look at the library in Bangor, Maine as I have not seen it yet. How wonderful that Stephen King and his wife donated so much for its renovation!
  
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Rick Mallery on March 25, 2013 at 4:07 pm said:

Thought about you with my post yesterday. Wish I could have posted it on World Poetry Day, but as it has to do with the olfactory senses, seemed appropriate, if not belated. Cooking and Poetry. 🙂

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- Letizia on March 27, 2013 at 11:42 am said:
  
  I can’t wait to check it out (I’m a bit behind in reading my blogs!). I LOVE your Power Shorts – they are fantastic! 😀
  
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  - Rick Mallery on March 27, 2013 at 11:48 am said:
    
    Thanks for the encouragement! These power shorts have been a lot of fun, and it’s been great finding a focus for my blog. 🙂
    
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StetotheJ on March 27, 2013 at 1:05 pm said:

Now that is a book store I could spend hours in….as if I needed an excuse!

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- Letizia on March 27, 2013 at 2:28 pm said:
  
  You would go home with a bag full of interesting books for sure!
  
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marviiilous on March 28, 2013 at 9:10 pm said:

Wow! what a great bookstore! great photos too!

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- Letizia on March 29, 2013 at 9:35 am said:
  
  Aren’t the doors cool? It’s a great place!
  
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coachdaddyblogger on March 30, 2013 at 12:53 am said:

The best thing we can get in an American book store is a Starbucks. And I don’t even like coffee.

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- Letizia on March 30, 2013 at 1:54 pm said:
  
  I wish this wonderful book chain existed in the USA 🙂
  
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sriramjanak on April 18, 2013 at 11:30 pm said:

WOW ! thanks for sharing..

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- Letizia on April 19, 2013 at 1:13 pm said:
  
  Glad you liked it too! 🙂
  
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Sartenada on April 21, 2013 at 6:07 am said:

Wow, what a place. In my family read a lot of – daily. Great post.

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- Letizia on April 22, 2013 at 9:27 am said:
  
  Thanks- there’s nothing like a great bookstore. One can spend hours walking around and looking at all the books. The hard part is deciding which ones to buy and take home!
  
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miguitarrayvos on April 21, 2013 at 10:50 am said:

Oi, Letizia! Há pouco encontramos seu blog e gostamos bastante. Adicionamos um link para ele no nosso: http://miguitarrayvos.wordpress.com/ Quando puder, apareça por lá. Críticas e sugestões são sempre bem-vindas. Abraços, Jana e Jaime

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- Letizia on April 23, 2013 at 2:45 pm said:
  
  Jana e Jaime,
  Obrigada por suas belas palavras sobre meu blog – e eu estava tao feliz ao descobrir seus blog – ele e realmente lindo! Eu amo o layout ea combinacao de fotografias e palavras poeticas. Eu estou ansioso para seguir junto.
  
  Desculpe meu Portugues-nao e o meu melhor linguagem (eu sou frances), mas eu amo usa-lo sempre que posso 🙂
  
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  - miguitarrayvos on April 24, 2013 at 4:43 am said:
    
    Oi, Letizia, nós é que agradecemos. Não se preocupe com o português, você escreve muito bem e se entende tudo perfeitamente. Esperamos poder trocar mais mensagens com você futuramente. Abraços, Jana e Jaime
    
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walterdoege on March 23, 2019 at 11:13 am said:

Letizia, voltei a escrever! nice to meet you!

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