By ARTI DAS
José Luís Peixoto can be easily mistaken for a college student but strike up a conversation with him and you will change your opinion. He is rooted, thoughtful, both of which are well reflected in his writings.

He is a young writer from Portugal who has written on varied topics that range from fiction to poetry to drama and even lyrics. He is currently in Goa to promote his novel ‘Nenhum Olhar’ (Blank Gaze/The Implacable Order of Things).
The novel went on to win the prestigious Jose Saramago Literary Award in 2001 and has been translated into 20 different languages.
He believes that his writings are a mix of reality and fiction and that is also relevant through his first novel. With this novel José Luís Peixoto turned to writing fulltime.
“When I started writing my novel some 10 years ago I didn’t expect it to do so well. This novel is predominantly based in a village and has a lot of relevance to the village that I come from. When I started writing the one thing I kept in mind was that I would only write about those things that I knew very well. So, it was natural for me to write on where I belong,” says José who attended the interactive session of artists at Instituto Camões, Panaji on Tuesday.
He added that being brought in a village environment, surrounded by elders, exposed him to many stories and realities of life. “I had two godfathers and both were very old. So I grew up listening to their stories. Now in Europe the whole village culture is disappearing, and my book talks about that,” says José who also took inspiration from senior Portuguese writers.
During his interaction he rued the fact that it was very difficult to make a living out of writing, not only in Portugal, but in any part of the world. “Along with my writing I used to also write about fado, heavy metal, etc. I also wrote for some artists. The fact that my first novel won me an award gave me the recognition. It actually made me to think to make a living on writing. And here I am, in India, promoting my novel in Delhi and Bangalore,” explained José who started his career as an English teacher.
When asked about the co-relation between Goa and Portugal he said that Goa always made him feel at home. “It is nice to see some Portuguese names on the streets of Goa and even the old heritage houses that have that Portuguese essence. Also I feel that Goans who are in Portugal are good ambassadors of Goa,” elaborated the 34-year-old José.
José learnt of Goa in a book written by writer friend, José Eduardo Agualusa titled ‘Um estranho em Goa’ (‘A Strange in Goa’).  He opined, “Goa is a perfect place for writers. People here have a good sense of timing and are good humans.” But when asked whether he wants to write any book on Goa he promptly said, “For that I have to know Goa much better.”
Now he is busy writing his next book based on the migration that happened in 1960s in Portugal.