Today's Highlight at the IYL // Descubrimiento del día en la IYL: Desequilibristas

Today’s highlight at the Internationale Jugendbibliothek: vibrant and brilliant Brazilian urban poetry for young adults (and especially skaters)

Descubrimiento del día en la IYL: brillante y vibrante poesía urbana para jóvenes (y especialmente skaters) 

Desequilibristas

(Desequilibrists)

Maltez, Manu (text/illus.)
São Paulo: Peirópolis, 2014. – [108] p.
ISBN 978-85-7596-343-2

Skateboarding  | City life  | Youth culture  | Poetry  | Picture book

White Ravens issue: 2015

Reading age: 13+

This book jumps up at readers in two respects: On the one hand, it sends a young skateboarder flying across the front cover, on the other the fluorescent orange of the cover signals movement, action, drama, perhaps even danger. “Desequilibristas” is an entire book devoted to skateboarding, which is less a sport than a way of life, an attitude, an exquisite expression of global urban youth culture. The book consists mainly of wild, nervous, hasty black-and-white drawings, which seem raw, untamed, tough, brimming with energy. They are linked by short rhymed text stanzas and fragments. The texts, when recited in rap rhythms, sound like a crude, unpolished ode to skateboarding. Manu Maltez, who so far has published a handful of books, proves to be an extremely versatile artist and virtuoso exploring the interfaces of fine arts, graphic design, literature, and music. This innovative book stands out from the Brazilian young adult book market.