Cláudio Bueno da Silva (photo) has been working for 33 years as a volunteer at the Spiritist Centre Instituto Obreiros do Bem, in Osasco, in the outskirts of São Paulo. He has just published his first book, a collection of short stories using extracts from Allan Kardec’s Spiritist Magazine and other books by the codifier of Spiritism. The result is a book of very moving, and yet informative, short stories.   How did you begin to write short stories?  I always liked the genre. It is fast, short and gives the reader an immediate

answer. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I destroyed quite a bit of the material written in previous years. And I’d never really considering taking time off from my activities in the Spiritist Movement – I have quite a busy schedule – in order to begin writing stories that could lead to the publication of a book. But in the last few years, I felt that became a bit more feasible. Now a bit more mature, I dedicate a great deal of time to writing.

And how do you link each short story to the teachings of Spiritism? 

An idea comes sometimes from a single word, a single sentence. I often stop reading a book, go to the computer and begin writing straight away, based on something I’d just read. Sometimes it comes fast, sometimes, slowly. The teachings of Spiritism are normally weaved in gradually, as I write. Even in stories that seem to have no link to Spiritism, I look for solutions, I look for paths that will lead to where I’m going. The main thing is to have something useful to say. 

Your book has many quotations from Kardec’s Revue Spirite – an encouragement for the study of the publication. How did you come up with the idea of linking the magazine to your short stories? 

Unfortunately, the Spiritist Magazine is often ignored by Spiritists. The publication was like a vast lab, where Kardec experimented with ideas, concepts and thoughts, which eventually came together as the Spiritist Doctrine. I knew a bit about the Revue Spirite and realised that I could get people interested in reading it by linking it to my stories. Also, the word of Kardec adds reliability and provides a theoretical input to my short stories. 

Do you think the short story is an efficient way of reaching out to your readers? Why? 

The short story is not really the favourite genre of the average Spiritist reader, who normally prefers the novel. However, we have amazing examples in the Spiritist literature of good short story writers, such as Humberto de Campos, Hilário Silva, Jorge Rizzini and others, as well as many who are still incarnate. They have all managed to raise awareness to and discuss Spiritist themes in a very effective manner. 

How do you think short stories books will be able to contribute towards the dissemination of Spiritism? 

I believe the short story is the most effective tool available to the Spiritist writer to communicate with their readers in a direct and practical way. Short stories will touch the reader’s emotions, will make him laugh, dig into old memories, will make him think. But what is most important in the Spiritist short story is the theoretical content, which can be explicit or suggested. Short stories are magical. At the end of each story, the reader will be able to close the book and reflect for a few moments, brewing the ideas, in silent dialogue with him or herself. 

Do you have plans for other books? Have you continued to research and write? 

Yes, I have been quite busy, albeit not as much as I would like to. I have always been a dedicated reader and researcher. I am now considering, with a friend, co-authoring a book mixing literature and theory. I also have plans, or ideas, to write a novel featuring the dry, semi-arid lands of the northeast of Brazil. But for the time being, all I ask God is to give my first book the treatment deserved. 

What can we learn from Spiritism in order to best achieve balance in our lives? 

Allan Kardec said that Spiritism is a philosophy with scientific basis and moral consequences. He also said that its power lies in its philosophy. That is something I deal well with. Humankind changes, transforms, when people think, when they approach problems from a philosophical perspective. Once that is done, people then act based on the convictions acquired, the result of its internal individual effort.  The moral principals will give value, quality to their acts. As the Spiritist philosophy and moral are of a good nature, those who live according to them will achieve balance in their lives. 

Are the characters in your short stories fictional, the result of your own experience or an inspiration through mediumship? 

There are examples of each one of the three in my book. In the story Repórter de um diário francês (Reporter of a French diary), for instance, I believe there was inspiration from the Spiritual World, as the text was produced very fast, with few amendments. At that time, my mind was miles away from the subject of the story. Later, when I read the original to my wife, I was very moved and began to cry compulsively. The other stories have a mix of my own experiences and fiction. However, what can we say about inspiration? Where does it come from? What I cans say is that if one decides to write, with a serious purpose, the inspiration will inevitably come. There is always someone in the Spiritual World willing to help. 

What else would you like to add? 

I would like to thank all of those who have opened their doors for me to promote my book among Spiritist and non-Spiritist readers. Although this book has a Spiritist theme, my aim is not to indoctrinate other people. All I intend to is to use my stories to disseminate this rich and vast pool of ideas and thoughts provided by Spiritism provides. Each one should be left to assess in their own time and in their own manner to assess how valuable those ideas will be to them.