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One of those odd coincidences
Published: 6/18/2010 2:24 PM
Last Modified: 6/18/2010 2:24 PM

It was announced this morning that Jose Saramago, the Nobel Prize-winning Portugese novelist best known in this country for his novels "All the Names" and "Blindness," which was made into a film starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Danny Glover, has died at the age of 87.

And in today's mail, I received the advance reading copy of the latest Saramago novel to be translated into English: "The Elephant's Journey," which will be officially released in September.

The novel is based on a bit of history -- King Joao III of Portugal presented the Archduke Maximillian of Austria with the gift of an elephant in honor of the Archduke's wedding. Saramago's novel is an imaginative version of the elephant's trek from Lisbon to Vienna through 16th century Europe.

The dedication of the novel is "To Pilar, who did not let me die." Pilar del Rio was Saramago's wife.

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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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Past Articles By James D. Watts Jr

2/15/2013		'Concept/OK' exhibit ends Saturday
2/14/2013		Symphony to host piano soloist
2/14/2013		Broadway tours bring 'Shrek,' improv musical to Tulsa area this weekend
2/14/2013		Arts roundup: Improv reigns at several upcoming theater events
2/14/2013		'Lion King' returns to Tulsa PAC June 4
2/12/2013		Review: Signature Symphony reprises '100 Years of Oklahoma Music'
2/11/2013		Tulsa Symphony's concert salutes diverse American music
2/10/2013		Cherokee artist weaves messages into baskets
2/10/2013		Tesla Quartet set for Tulsa residency next week with variety of activities
2/10/2013		Jim Murphy wins 2013 Anne Zarrow Award
2/10/2013		LBJ chronicler Robert Caro to speak at TU on Tuesday
2/9/2013		Theater review: Playhouse makes "Barefoot in the Park" believable

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