Betty Milan
Born in 1944 in the affluent center of São Paulo, Betty Milan spent her early childhood on the outskirts of the city, in Vila Esperança. Perhaps this is what led to her interest in popular culture, along with the fact that she has lived in both France and Brazil since the age of thirty, traveling back and forth between two continents.
At the age of 18, she entered the School of Medicine at the University of São Paulo (USP), where she specialized in psychiatry. She also dedicated herself to the humanities and audited various courses at the USP School of Philosophy, Science, and Literature, where she was exposed to French intellectual giants like Michel Serres, Michel Foucault, and Gérard Lebrun, awakening in her a desire to become better acquainted with French culture.
After graduating from medical school in 1968, Milan began her specialization in psychiatry, interning at several Brazilian hospitals, including Juqueri, one of the oldest psychiatric centers in the country, located in Franco da Rocha, São Paulo. She did another internship in Scotland at a therapeutic community directed by psychiatrist Maxwell Jones. At the same time, she studied psychodrama and psychoanalysis and served apprenticeships in both.
In 1969, Milan met Zerka Moreno at a psychodrama conference in Buenos Aires. In December of that same year, she went to study at the Moreno Institute in Beacon, New York. She worked directly with Zerka at the New York Public Theater. Upon returning to Brazil, she wrote the book O jogo do esconderijo (Hide and seek), in which she questions the role of will in psychodrama.
At the age of 29, Milan defended her doctoral dissertation in psychiatry at the USP School of Medicine. One year later, in 1974, she left for France to do analysis with Jacques Lacan. She soon became his translator and assistant at the University of Paris VIII.
Her encounter with the great psychoanalyst was decisive, as she learned not to imitate the master but to value her own individuality. The product of this experience was the 1991 novel O papagaio e o doutor (“Lacan’s Parrot”), which was translated into French in 1997 and into Spanish in 1998. The book had an impact in several countries, including Brazil, Portugal, France, Belgium, Lebanon, and Argentina, possibly because it preaches independence from both mentor and ancestors.
Shortly before Milan finished her psychoanalytical training and returned to Brazil, in 1981, she launched a literary career with her first novel, O sexophuro, which was well received by critics in São Paulo.
Her residency in France from 1974 to 1978 enabled her to specialize in psychoanalysis while simultaneously immersing herself in French culture. It also made her dream about her native country, renewing her interest in its culture. When she returned to Brazil, she trained psychoanalysts, engaged in clinical work, and also conducted research on Carnival, while simultaneously teaching at the Freudian School of Rio de Janeiro, an association that she and fellow psychoanalyst Magno Machado Dias founded in 1975 and that has played an important role in spreading awareness of Lacan’s theories.
In 1988, her research on samba schools in Rio de Janeiro was published under the title Os bastidores do Carnaval (Behind the scenes of Carnival), a pioneering study that for the first time ever took the discourse of members of samba schools seriously. During her research, she met Joãosinho Trinta, who spoke to her about the culture of play. This prompted her to develop “play” into a concept and establish how important it is for Brazilians, much as humor is for the English and droit for the French.
Milan sees play as a civilizing force and a Brazilian cultural trait. Accordingly, in her essay on love, E o que é o amor (What love is), she distinguishes the passion of love à la Tristan and Isolde from the passion of play, or love Brazilian style, which finds its greatest expression in Mario de Andrade’s novel Macunaíma. This highly controversial bestseller, published by Editora Brasiliense in 1983 as part of its Coleção Primeiros Passos, generated more pages of newspaper coverage than the number of pages in the book. One chapter was later adapted for the stage. Entitled Paixão (Passion), the play was performed in almost every state in Brazil, interpreted by Nathalia Timberg, directed by Wolf Maia, and with music by Júlio Medaglia. The Paulista Museum at USP released the score on CD.
In 1985, Milan took part in a conference organized by the Freudian School of Rio de Janeiro. Attended by Brazilian intellectuals from all fields of knowledge, the event featured Gilberto Freyre as guest of honor. It closed with Milan’s text “A Psi do Zil” (The psy of Zil), which later became part of the book Isso é o país (This is the country), a text that was important in the development of her later work, especially the novel O papagaio e o doutor. Milan then returned to France, this time with the idea of writing. Paris was no longer the city where she trained in psychoanalysis but rather the place of her voluntary exile. The first book she wrote there was precisely O papagaio e o doutor, which narrates the saga of Lebanese immigration to Brazil and the author’s encounter with a doctor inspired by the figure of Jacques Lacan. Milan spent five years writing the book (1986-1991) and another five supervising its translation and adaptation into French (1992-1997). The latter experience led her to write a new version of the book in Portuguese, published in 1998 by Editora Record.
Milan produced other texts during the same period. In 1989, she published O país da bola (Land of soccer), a book-length essay praised by the Jornal do Brasil on the cover of its cultural supplement. Translated into French and released during the 1998 World Cup, it was well received by the French media and listed as “recommended reading” by the magazine Le Nouvel Observateur.
From 1991 to 1994, Milan worked on A paixão de Lia (The passion of Lia), a novel where eroticism and lyricism merge. Critics hailed it for its imagination and delicacy.
Before releasing the French edition of O papagaio e o Doutor in 1997, Milan wrote a series of 29 crônicas (a Brazilian literary genre of short stories) set in Paris, published by the São Paulo newspaper Jornal da Tarde. In 1996, these texts were collected in the book Paris não acaba nunca (Paris Never Ends), released by Editora Record. The book was a major commercial success in Brazil. It was translated into French and English and released online in Paris by the virtual publisher 00h00.com. Having spent two decades between Brazil and France, the author wrote the French version herself. In 2004, the French edition was translated into Chinese and published in Beijing.
Beginning in 1993, Milan took advantage of both her residency in Paris and her work as a contributor to major Brazilian newspapers and began interviewing foreign artists and intellectuals for the cultural supplement of Folha de S.Paulo, a newspaper with which she had worked since 1980. She had the opportunity to interview such writers, artists, and thinkers as Nathalie Sarraute, Octavio Paz, Michel Serres, Jacques Derrida, and Françoise Sagan. In 1996, the interviews were collected in the book A força da palavra (The power of the word). Since that date, Editora Record has been the chief publisher of Milan’s work.
Soon after, Folha de S.Paulo commissioned Milan to interview ten leading European intellectuals, focusing on topics like the city, war, homeland, exile, life, women, sex, language, art, and communication in the context of the 20th century. The interviews were published by Folha and later collected in O século (The century), released by Editora Record. The São Paulo Art Critics Association awarded the book first place in crônicas in 1999.
In 1998, Milan was guest of honor at the Paris Salon du Livre, where the French versions of Os bastidores do Carnaval (Rio, dans les coulisses du carnival) and O país da bola (Le pays du ballon rond) were brought out by Éditions de l’Aube, which had earlier published Le Perroquet et le Docteur, the French version of O papagaio e o doutor.
In 1994, Milan became a member of the International Parliament of Writers and as a member took an active role in securing Passo Fundo, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, as one of the Parliament’s cities of refuge.
From 1996 to 2000, Milan worked on O clarão (Flash of light), a book that can be called a “novel of wisdom,” with its themes of friendship and death. It was released in 2001 by Editora de Cultura as part of the Projeto Amizade no Terceiro Milênio (Friendship Project in the Third Millennium), a movement of intellectuals and artists working to promote peace through education. The book was a finalist for the Passo Fundo Literary Prize and was adopted by the Goiás State Department of Education and the São Paulo Municipal Department of Education. It was followed by publication of A cartilha do amigo (The friend’s primer). Designed especially to be used in schools, and likewise adopted by São Paulo, the book became a successful foray into literature for children and young readers.
In 2002, Milan launched a chat line where she responded to questions online. That same year, she adapted A paixão de Lia for the stage. The text was read at the Folha de S.Paulo auditorium by actress Giulia Gam under the direction of José Celso Martinez Corrêa, of Teatro Oficina.
In November 2003, she released the novel O amante brasileiro (The Brazilian lover), inspired in part by her chat line. The book was later adapted for the stage and premiered in August 2004 at Teatro Oficina under the direction of Fransérgio Araújo.
In 2005, Milan wrote the play Brasileira de Paris (The Brazilian from Paris), which was read at the Folha de S.Paulo auditorium on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2006, under the direction of Marcelo Drummond. After contributing to Folha de S.Paulo for 25 years, she became an advice columnist for the newspaper in 2005, answering readers’ questions about love, sex, and death. In 2007, these columns were compiled in the book Fale com ela (Talk to her), published by Editora Record. The book drew significant media coverage and the weekly magazine Veja invited the author to write an advice column for Veja.com, its online edition, an invitation she accepted.
In 2008, she came out with Quando Paris cintila (When Paris shines). Written in Paris, this collection of 33 crônicas explores issues and ideas stirred by the author’s visits to places like Oslo, Istanbul, Salonica, Beijing, Dunhuang, Madras, Ouro Preto, and New York. A revised edition of Paris não acaba nunca appeared that same year.
Milan was active on several fronts in 2009. The online cultural magazine Agulha republished some of the interviews from O século and A força da palavra, at that point no longer available in print. Veja invited her to write a monthly column for the magazine, which she began in May of that year. A new literary launching took place in August in both Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, with the release of her novel Consolação (Solace). The book was recommended by Veja and called “excellent” by Folha de S.Paulo. In the field of video, her poem “Paris, adeus” (Goodbye, Paris) was interpreted by actress Bete Coelho and broadcast on TV Culture in August that year; it featured images of Paris filmed by director Mathias Mangin. In theater, following the January 2008 reading of Brasileira de Paris at Teatro Oficina under the direction of Marcelo Drummond, Adeus Doutor was read at Théâtre du Rond-Point in October 2009 under the direction of Jean-Luc Paliès. A second dramatic reading was held in São Paulo in March 2010, performed by Bete Coelho and Zé Celso. A third reading took place in August 2011, at USP, where it was performed by theater students under the direction of Jean-Luc Paliès.
In 2011, a collection of the best columns from Milan’s online advice column for Veja.com was published under the title Quem ama escuta (To love is to listen), earning significant recognition in the Brazilian press. In 2020 the book was translated into french: “De vous a moi”. It will be published in France by Eres.
In 2012, Milan adapted the most expressive stories from Quem ama escuta for the stage under the title A vida é um teatro (Life is a theater), performed by Grupo Vozes at both the Livraria da Vila Theater and Fliporto, Pernambuco’s literary festival. That same year, Editora Record published a revised, expanded edition of A força da palavra.
The following year, Carta ao filho (“Letter to My Son”) was released in São Paulo to great acclaim in the press. Historian Mary del Priore called it the first autobiography published by a woman writer in Brazil.
In 2014, the year of the World Cup in Brazil, O país da bola was re-released, with a new preface by the author. Before writing the preface, Milan interviewed the French soccer player Platini, who told her that Brazil is indeed the land of soccer because “it is as important for fans all over the world to go to Brazil as it is for Muslims to visit Mecca.”
Teatro Lírico/Teatro Dramático (Lyric theater/dramatic theater) was brought out in 2015 by Editora Giostri, assembling in one volume the author’s lyric and dramatic plays. In 2016 came A mãe eterna (“The Eternal Mother”), a bestseller and major critical success. The initial print run sold out in two weeks, a remarkable feat in Brazil.
The prelaunch of Baal was held on June 8, 2019, in Beirut, where the author, who has now written two books inspired by the Lebanese diaspora, was honored by the country’s Minister of Foreign Relations “for her contribution to her ancestors’ homeland.”
Baal was officially launched on June 18, 2019, at the Livraria da Vila bookstore in São Paulo and a launch party was also held in Rio de Janeiro, at Livraria Travessa bookstore
In 2018, she was invited to Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins, and the New York School of Arts to speak on the diaspora and literature. In 2019, she attended Lebanese Diaspora Energy in Beirut, where she was honored for her contribution to her ancestors’ homeland (photo).
In 2021 Lacan ainda was published by Companhia das Letras. It was a critical and commercial success and the second edition of the book was quickly printed. In the same year, the rights for the film Adieu Lacan were bought by Richard Ledes. The film is an adaptation of the novel Lacan’s Parrot and the play Goodbye, Doctor. Also in 2021 Betty was elected to chair number 04 at Academia Paulista de Letras (Literature Academy of São Paulo).
It 2022 the film was released and can be seen in the streaming. Also in this year éditions érès published Pourquoi Lacan and Betty launched in Brasil Heresia in a live Internet Conference, with the participation of the literary critic Manuel da Costa Pinto and the executive editor of RECORD, Rodrigo Lacerda.
In 2023 éditions érès published Adieu Lacan with both the novel Lacan’s Parrot and the play Adieu Docteur.
Milan has written successful essays, novels, crônicas, interviews, and plays. She is drawn to a large range of topics and moves freely between them. It is hardly surprising that Paris não acaba nunca is dedicated “to those who know how to wander.” The word “wanderer” fits this author perfectly; her irreverence stems from the fact that she leaps guiltlessly from branch to branch, rejecting the guiding maxim of most Brazilian intellectuals: “Every jack to his trade.” It is precisely because she has never followed this dictum that she opened her ears to Carnival revelers and as a result introduced into Brazilian culture a new concept of play, one that sociologist Gilberto Freyre found of great interest.
Betty Milan’s independence and daring, traits she shares with the heroine of Lacan’s Parrot, have led her to reject various forms of imperialism and instead foster a love for Brazil. Yet she never lapses into nationalism, something that would be incompatible with her way of being, because she is grounded in a cosmopolitanism, evinced through her constant travels from one country to the other, from one culture to the other.