Archive - March 18, 2012

Brazil: Heads and Tales 1965–1967, Peace Corps by Tomas Belsky (Brazil 1965–67) Peace Corps Writers 2012 116 pages $20.00 (paperback) Reviewed by Lawrence F. Lihosit (Honduras 1975–77) THERE ARE THOSE AMONGST US who long to outlaw art as a waste of energy. These are usually the same folks who talk about money and practicality. Strange, but when we review human history — the Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, Mayas, Incans — nobody cared enough about merchants to even jot down their names. We remember statesmen, military leaders, builders and most of all, artists. In many cases, the artists were also royalty who supervised statesmen, military leaders and builders. Tomas Belsky understands the power of art. He created a book filled with poetry, colored plates of paintings and personal experience essays about Brazil’s Northeast between 1965 and 1967. In a humorous, free verse poem titled “Finding Tomas,” Belsky explains how he lost . . .