Episode 5 | What Makes a Genius Writer a Genius? | Report on the Thing by Clarice Lispector

The Joy of Serious Literature

What makes the "genius writer" actually a genius? What does it even mean to be a "genius"? How does genius manifest itself on the page? When I think of these questions, a writer comes to mind: the Brazilian novelist, housewife, and national hero Clarice Lispector. Never was a writer more audacious, never was a writer more mindbogglingly strange. To understand her and genius itself, all we need to do is look at one single short story, Report on the Thing, about a woman deep in a metaphysical love affair with an alarm clock. You can read a translation of Report on the Thing for free on Vice Magazine's website: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/read-this-story-by-clarice-lispector-report-on-the-thing-777 You can also contact the man behind the Joy of Serious Literature by emailing him at [e-mail]. Thanks for listening.