“MY SOUL HAS A HAT” BY MÁRIO DE ANDRADE IS FAKE NEWS
Some
years now, a beautiful poem has been going around social media titled “My Soul
Has a Hat” and attributed to the Brazilian poet, Mário de Andrade (1893-1945).
This
post, for example, by Father Richard Landry of the La Salette Missionaries, reproduces
an English translation of the Portuguese poem.
—Father Richard Landry, M.S., “My Soul Has a Hat,” La Salette Reflections
Although the original text in Portuguese is
genuine, both the title and author is fake news.
Below
is one English translation that’s been making the rounds.
begin
I
counted my years and realized that I have less time to live by than I have
lived so far.
I
feel like a child who won a pack of candies. At first he ate them with
pleasure, but when he realized that there was little left, he began to taste
them intensely.
I
have no time for endless meetings where the statutes, rules, procedures, and
internal regulations are discussed, knowing that nothing will be done.
I
no longer have the patience to stand absurd people who, despite their
chronological age, have not grown up.
My
time is too short: I want the essence. My spirit is in a hurry. I do not have
much candy in the package anymore.
I
want to live next to humans, very realistic people who know how to laugh at
their mistakes and who are not inflated by their own triumphs and who take responsibility
for their actions. In this way, human dignity is defended and we live in truth
and honesty.
It
is the essentials that make life useful. I want to surround myself with people who
know how to touch the hearts of those whom hard strokes of life have learned to
grow with sweet touches of the soul.
Yes,
I’m in a hurry. I’m in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity
can give.
I
do not intend to waste any of the remaining desserts. I
am sure they will be exquisite, much more than those eaten so far.
My goal is
to reach the end satisfied and at peace with my loved ones and my conscience.
We
have two lives and the second begins when you realize you have only one.
end
To
many, including myself, it’s a masterpiece of a poem.
The
purported title appears to allude to a soul on a spiritual journey who puts on
a hat like a traveler.
The
real title is “Tempo que Foge,” and the poem was written in Portuguese by
Ricardo Gondim Rodrigues. See below from Wikipedia:
“Ricardo
Gondim Rodrigues is a Brazilian theologian, progressive pastor, national president
of the Betesda Church, based in São Paulo, president of the Christian Institute
of Contemporary Studies, and lecturer. He has a radio program and is a
columnist for several media outlets. He is an award-winning author of several
controversial books and articles.
“He
graduated in Theology from Genesis Training Center in California in 1977, and in
Business Administration from the State University of Ceará in 1980, and [completed
an] M.A. in Religious Studies [from] the Methodist University of São Paulo in
2009. He received the Areté Award from the Association of Christian Publishers
in 2004.”
I
did minor editing on the original English text copied from Wikipedia.
Various
websites in Portuguese correct the false title and misattribution.
I
used Google translate to access the content in English and did some minor
editing on some of the Google translations.
“O
texto não é nem do Mário de Andrade nem do Rubem Alves. O texto é do Ricardo
Gondim.”
—“Um
comentário por Leonardo Martins” (May 31, 2018), O Que Eu Fiz Hoje
English
translation:
“The
text is neither Mário de Andrade nor Rubem Alves. The text is by Ricardo
Gondim.”
begin
Autor
Ricardo Gondim, “O Tempo que Foge,” extraído do livro “Creio, Mas Tenho Dúvidas.”
Site
do autor, onde ele faz referências à obra, e à confusão com a autoria do texto [link]
Pelo
que conseguimos observar até ao momento (inclusive no vídeo), o texto acima é
atribuído erradamente a diversos autores, nomeadamente:
Rubem
Alves (que é também um entusiasta da Teologia da Libertação);
Mário
de Andrade (1893-1945), escritor e fundador do Modernismo brasileiro;
Mário
Coelho Pinto de Andrade (1928-1990), angolano, pelo equívoco do encurtamento do
nome.
end
—António
Cunha, “‘O Tempo que Foge’ de Ricardo Gondim” (February 12, 2017), Gabinete Português de Leitura, Bahia
English
translation:
begin
Author
Ricardo Gondim, “O Tempo que Foge,” extracted from the book “I believe, but I
have doubts.”
Author’s
website, where he makes references to the work and confusion with the
authorship of the text [link]
From
what we have seen so far (including in the video), the above text is wrongly
attributed to several authors, namely:
Rubem
Alves (who is also an enthusiast of Liberation Theology);
Mário
de Andrade (1893-1945), writer and founder of Brazilian Modernism;
Mário
Coelho Pinto de Andrade (1928-1990), Angolan, mistake the result of shortening
the name
end
Following
is what Gondim himself says on his website. He even gives the page number where
his poem appears.
begin
Prezada
Daisy,
Não,
Daisy, o texto não é do Rubem Alves. Ele é meu! Eu o escrevi. Está em meu livro
“Creio, mas Tenho Dúvidas”, publicado pela Editora Ultimato, com registro no
ISBN, consta na página 107.
Portanto,
se alguém, inescrupulosamente, atribui o texto a Rubem Alves, está sendo
desonesto comigo e com a minha produção intelectual. Inclusive, sugiro que você
pergunte diretamente ao Rubem Alves, se é de sua lavra “O Tempo que Foge.” Sendo ele um homem digno, honesto e verdadeiro, certamente, reconhecerá que o
texto é meu.
Grato.
Como você duvida da minha integridade, lamento, mas o mesmo texto tem sido
atribuido a várias pessoas, inclusive a Mário de Andrade.
A
única coisa que me resta é esperar que um dia a justiça prevaleça.
Sinceramente,
Ricardo
Gondim
end
—Ricardo
Gondim, “Querem roubar e ainda me chamam de ladrão” (December 13, 2011), Ricardo Gondim
English
translation:
begin
Dear
Daisy,
No,
Daisy, the text is not from Rubem Alves. It is mine! I wrote it. It is in my
book “I believe, but I have doubts,” published by Editora Ultimato, with ISBN registration,
and the text appears on page 107.
Therefore,
if someone unscrupulously attributes the text to Rubem Alves, they are being
dishonest with me and [misattributing] my intellectual production. In fact, I
suggest that you ask Rubem Alves directly if “O Tempo que Foge” is his work.
Being a dignified, honest, and true man, he will certainly acknowledge that the
text is mine.
Thank
you. As you doubt my integrity, I am sorry, but the same text has been
attributed to several people, including Mário de Andrade.
The
only thing I have left is to hope that justice will one day prevail.
Sincerely,
Ricardo
Gondim
end
A
link to the Google Books copy yields the original text of “Tempo que Foge” on
page 102 (not page 107) published in “Eu Creio, Mas Tenho Dúvidas,” copyright
2007.
“You
can’t have fake news and democracy, too.”
 |
| Ricardo Gondim |
