DOZE LENDAS BRASILEIRAS

Can a legend be true? Yes—because that is how people choose to believe it. Passed down from parents to children, legends carry marvelous tales that exist alongside history. Like stories whispered around a campfire on a dark night, they tell of events that may never have happened, yet easily could have in a world shaped by imagination. In this way, an oral tradition becomes a rich and vibrant literature, where the spirit of an entire people becomes childlike and delights in the magic of make-believe. Or is it make-believe? As Clarice Lispector reminds us, "What could be more powerful than a dream?"
With these beautiful reflections, Clarice Lispector introduces this new edition of Twelve Brazilian Legends in her essay "The Power of Dreams." Written in December 1976, the essay originally appeared in the 1977 calendar where these stories were first published and is now available in book form for the first time.
This collection brings together twelve stories from Brazilian folklore—one for each month of the year—retold by one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. In the title story, for example, mischievous Indigenous children become "bright, shining stars" in the night sky. "Something happened that only happens when you believe," Clarice writes, before telling the enchanting tale of children who climb to the heavens on vines tied together by hummingbirds to escape their mothers' scolding.
Throughout the year, Indigenous legends and beloved folk characters such as Saci, Pedro Malasartes, and Negrinho do Pastoreio are brought vividly to life through Clarice's graceful, playful storytelling. For the final month of the year, she offers "A True Legend," a hopeful retelling of the birth of the Christ Child, bringing this timeless collection to a heartwarming close.