Elisa Marques, a writer from Goiás, enters the emotional universe of goodbyes and loving rediscoveries in her debut book, ‘Even my therapist misses you’. With a collection of 72 poems, the work delves into the intimate narrative of the breakup between two women, offering an autobiographical vision of this journey.
In an interview, Elisa shares the intimate experience behind the writing process, highlighting her grandfather’s influence and the transition of her poetic style. Inspired by contemporary Rupi Kaur, she believes in the healing power of writing and explores romantic love as a central theme. Additionally, she reveals future plans, including translating the book into English and an upcoming audiovisual project. With a unique aesthetic approach, Elisa Marques promises to involve readers in her melancholic and contemporary work, marking the beginning of a promising literary career.
Her first book, “Even My Therapist Misses You,” is highly autobiographical and filled with intense emotions. What was the experience of transforming these emotions into poetry?
It was from this emotional disturbance that I began writing. Experiencing simultaneously the death of a love and my birth as a poet was an exhausting process. At the time I still didn’t have the discernment to know how to distance my work from myself, so writing this story often demanded more from my emotional side than I was prepared for.
You mentioned that contemporary poet Rupi Kaur is an inspiration. How has the art of writing, as expressed by Kaur, influenced your own approach to poetry?
Rupi doesn’t bring lightness to her words, she doesn’t walk on eggshells, she has a sharp tongue and equally incisive writing. The minimalist and brutal tone of this book came from there. The honesty with which she writes her verses gave me the courage to be as visceral as possible in my approach to poetry.
The title of your book, “Even My Therapist Misses You,” is intriguing. What does the title represent to you and how does it relate to the themes covered in the work?
The title is a statement of lack. It’s so great that I transfer this longing to other people. It’s as if everyone misses that person in my life – even the therapist. The title already says that that person is no longer there and that is the tone I follow throughout the work.
You mentioned that the next book will follow the “autofiction” route. Can you share a little about what readers can expect from this next project?
My next book comes with less pain and more romanticism. I am more aware of the resources of the language and I play more with words and their meanings. The poems now also have titles. It is a very romantic and sensual book, without losing the melancholy that is already my characteristic in writing.
His literary influence appears to be passed down through generations, with his grandfather playing a major role in his love of reading and writing. How has your grandfather’s literary legacy influenced your own work?
All my life I only heard about my grandfather. I know his face from three photographs, so all the memories I have about him are not mine, they were constructed through the eyes of other people. I only really met him after he died, and writing was always cited as an essential part of his life. He didn’t exist without writing, just as I don’t exist when I don’t write. Recognizing this passion in another person in my family made me surround myself with books, pens and blank pages. His legacy was a kind of validation that I, too, could turn writing into a profession.
The use of lowercase letters at the beginning of sentences and full stops in his poems is an interesting choice. Can you explain the significance of this stylistic and how it affects the reading and interpretation of the poems?
The final point for me is a place of breathing in the book, where the reader is induced to stop for a few seconds longer than usual to listen to the silence that the poem left behind. I feel like the book required these empty spaces. And the choice of lowercase letters was an attempt to fight against the rigidity that training in journalism brought to my writing. This detachment from norms also exemplifies the courage with which we surrender to our first love. This lack of fear converted into fragility.
You have plans to translate your book into English. How do you think contemporary poetry, with its nuances of language and culture, can be translated without losing its essence?
The study of poetic translation is very complex. It is important to maintain the honesty of the text without losing the strength of the verses. The poet chose those words for a reason. I think the translator’s biggest challenge is to honor these choices.
In addition to writing, you also mentioned an audiovisual project. How do you plan to combine literature and cinema in your future projects?
I also work on writing cultural projects for incentive laws. I have a film approved in which the script is an adaptation of my book, for example, and another in which I will direct a documentary web series about the life and work of some Brazilian writers of contemporary literature. In future announcements, I intend to continue taking literature with me.
What deeper message or emotion do you hope readers take away from “Even My Therapist Misses You”?
Suffer and smile knowing that this feeling will pass, and that the important thing is what you do while it doesn’t pass.
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