Moledro: The Feeling of Connection With an Author or Artist You’ll Never Meet - Portuguese
On Milan Kundera, Jane Austen, Roald Dahl, Haruki Murakami, and all others who are my friends, of course!
I knew it. I knew there was a word for this feeling! I finally found it, and I am announcing it to all my comrades who have not heard it yet.
There is a word in Portuguese that means to have a relationship with a writer or artist we may never meet, to feel a sense of friendship, a longing. Moledro.
A feeling creeping into me like a non-visible emotional companion whenever I read a gorgeous book or hear a legendary melody. I imagined that the heavenly talent was my soul friend. We knew each other in one of the worlds we were living in; I don’t know which, but, of course, we were friends—me and superhuman artists. At least I’ve learned that I’m not alone; I have the Portuguese.
I had already decided to write about this word last week, so it was already planned. But what was not planned—at least for me and all other human beings—was the death of Milan Kundera. Of course, the god or gods, the order, whatever you believe in or don't believe in, knew it when they were arranging the deaths of the week, of course, but they didn't let us know.
As a result, the coincidence of this week's word with Kundera's death made for a meaningful meeting for Words of the World.
Milan Kundera was important to me. I can't say I'm a fan; I haven't read him as much as Murakami, for example, but I remember the enlightenment that I had when I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I thought it was a practical answer to the question of what makes a good novel. I bought a few more of Kundera's novels afterwards, but unfortunately I couldn't finish them all. Now maybe it's time to revisit them and maybe even reread The Unbearable Lightness of Being. New happenings open new paths for us; whether they are endings or beginnings, they are all new.
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Although I wasn’t aware of the word moledro before, I have certainly experienced this feeling many times. In the novels I read, I felt as if the author was my friend, even going so far as to claim that I knew the author better than anyone else.
For example, I confess here before my readers and then before the world that I have re-read Jane Austen's novels many times. I may have read Pride and Prejudice at least four times. I have read Emma once, but something tells me I will revisit it again. I don't care that I already know the plot; it is attractive for me to get into the atmosphere and live with the characters. As I read, I try to guess what Austen was thinking while writing. I can't help imagining that she must have been laughing in some places and getting angry in others, just like a friend.
Roald Dahl is also like a friend. I guess it would be unrealistic to imagine Dahl as my friend, given that in reality he led a tumultuous life from spy to fighter pilot to chocolate connoisseur, but I can imagine that we are friends in the spiritual world. Dahl, who created stories like Matilda and Charlie's Chocolate Factory, is considered by many to be the best novelist of children's books. For someone like me who reads, cares about, and even writes children's literature as much as adults, Dahl is really a friend.
Speaking of Moledro, I cannot leave out Haruki Murakami. I felt that I knew Murakami, especially when I read Norwegian Wood and then his memoir books, in which he opened—it would be too ambitious to say opened—his much more personal world, what running meant to him, and his journey as a writer. Even if he is not in our physical world, Murakami and I are friends, no doubt.
The list of writers I am friends with could go on and on; I could write endlessly. But you have understood the subject clearly. You can even make your own moledro story and write about which writer or artist you have a virtual friendship with.
Notes & Reads:
Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro, who mainly writes memoirs but also touches on very private areas of her personal life, Shapiro writes in a very frank and sincere language, filled with the intention of being open as a natural consequence of being a memoir writer. After finishing it, I felt enriched, matured by the experiences of another life, and more in love with and convinced by writing.
Julio Cortazar’s "Literature Class, Berkeley 1980" is the book I’m reading nowadays. It’s my companion during the hour before sleeping, the best time to read the thoughts of a great author. His voice is full of experience, depth, and a good sense of "what to tell to-be writers in order to put a good seed in them."
Haruki Murakami's memoir-like books Novelist as a Vocation and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running are also recommended-by-me for those who want to get to know the author and want to look at writing through the eyes of a good writer.
Have a great week and weekend.
Till next week,
— Gulsun
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Where is this term been my whole life? I needed it!
I don’t know if there’s a Borgian intent here, but... I’d love to see a Portuguese dictionary about this. On Houaiss, moledro is just a bunch of rocks. :-)