Brazilian literature
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Brazilian literature is the literature written in the
Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...
by Brazilians or in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, including works written prior to the country's independence in 1822. Throughout its early years, literature from Brazil followed the literary trends of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, whereas gradually shifting to a different and authentic writing style in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, in the search for truly Brazilian themes and use of Brazilian forms. Portuguese is a
Romance language The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European languages, I ...
and the sole official language of Brazil. Lyrically, the poet
Olavo Bilac Olavo Brás Martins dos Guimarães Bilac (16 December 1865 – 28 December 1918), known simply as Olavo Bilac (), was a Brazilian Parnassianism, Parnassian poet, journalist and translator. Alongside Alberto de Oliveira and Raimundo Correia, he w ...
, named it " ''(...) desconhecida e obscura./ Tuba de alto clangor, lira singela,/ Que tens o trom e o silvo da procela,/ E o arrolo da saudade e da ternura!'' ", which roughly translates as "(...) unknown and obscure,/ Tuba of high blare, delicate lyre,/ That holds the frill and the hiss of the tempest/ And the singing of the
saudade ''Saudade'' (, , , ; plural ''saudades'') is an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for something that one loves despite it not necessarily being real. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of long ...
and of the tenderness!" Brazil's most significant literary award is the
Camões Prize The Camões Prize (Portuguese, ''Prémio Camões'', ), named after Luís de Camões, is the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language. It is awarded annually by the Portuguese ''Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Bib ...
, which it shares with the rest of the Portuguese-speaking world. As of 2016, Brazil has eleven recipients of the prize. Brazil also holds its own literary academy, the
Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literature, literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its found ...
, a non-profit cultural organization pointed in perpetuating the care of the national language and literature. Brazilian literature has been very prolific. Having as birth the letter of Pero Vaz de Caminha, the document that marks the discovery of Brazil, the country's literature has encompassed several significant writers. Major figures include novelists
Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...
,
Guimarães Rosa Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...
,
Jorge Amado Jorge Leal Amado de Faria (10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in ...
,
Clarice Lispector Clarice Lispector (born Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector ( uk, Хая Пінкасівна Ліспектор); December 10, 1920December 9, 1977) was a Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short story writer. Her innovative, idiosyncratic works exp ...
and
Graciliano Ramos Graciliano Ramos de Oliveira () (October 27, 1892 – March 20, 1953) was a Brazilian modernist writer, politician and journalist. He is known worldwide for his portrayal of the precarious situation of the poor inhabitants of the Brazilian ''sert ...
; poets such as
João Cabral de Melo Neto João Cabral de Melo Neto (January 6, 1920 – October 9, 1999) was a Brazilian poet and diplomat, and one of the most influential writers in late Brazilian modernism. He was awarded the 1990 Camões Prize and the 1992 Neustadt International Pr ...
,
Mário de Andrade Mário Raul de Morais Andrade (October 9, 1893 – February 25, 1945) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. He wrote one of the first and most influential collections of modern Brazilian poetr ...
,
Carlos Drummond de Andrade Carlos Drummond de Andrade () (October 31, 1902 – August 17, 1987) was a Brazilian poet and writer, considered by some as the greatest Brazilian poet of all time. He has become something of a national cultural symbol in Brazil, where his wi ...
,
Vinicius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwright ...
, Ferreira Gullar and
Manuel Bandeira Manuel Carneiro de Sousa Bandeira Filho (April 19, 1886 – October 13, 1968) was a Brazilian poet, literary critic, and translator, who wrote over 20 books of poetry and prose. Life and career Bandeira was born in Recife, Pernambuco. In 190 ...
; dramatists like
Nelson Rodrigues Nelson Falcão Rodrigues (August 23, 1912 – December 21, 1980) was a Brazilian playwright, journalist and novelist. In 1943, he helped usher in a new era in Brazilian theater with his play ''Vestido de Noiva (The Wedding Dress)'', considered ...
and
Augusto Boal Augusto Boal (16 March 1931 – 2 May 2009) was a Brazilian theatre practitioner, drama theorist, and political activist. He was the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, a theatrical form originally used in radical left popular education movemen ...
, and literary critics and theorists as
Antonio Candido Antonio Candido de Mello e Souza (July 24, 1918 – May 12, 2017) was a Brazilian writer, professor, sociologist, and literary critic. As a critic of Brazilian literature, he is regarded as having been one of the foremost scholars on the subject ...
and
Otto Maria Carpeaux Otto Maria Carpeaux (March 9, 1900 – February 3, 1978), born Otto Karpfen, was an Austrian-born Brazilian literary critic and multilingual scholar. Career overview Carpeaux was born Otto Karpfen in 1900 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, to a Jewish f ...
, among others.


Colonial period

One of the first extant documents that might be considered Brazilian literature is the ''
Carta de Pero Vaz de Caminha Carta is Latin and Italian for "paper" and is Spanish and Portuguese "letter". In English it takes the form "card" or "chart". Most of its uses pertain to its meaning as "paper", "chart", or "map", for example in ''Magna Carta''. Carta may refer ...
'' (Pero Vaz de Caminha's letter). It is written by
Pero Vaz de Caminha Pero may refer to: * Pero (mythology), several personages in Greek mythology ** Pero (princess), daughter of Neleus * Pero (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname Pero * Pero language, a language of Nigeria * Pero, Lombardy, ...
to
Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, a ...
, which contains a description of what
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
looked like in 1500. Journals of voyagers and descriptive treatises on "Portuguese America" dominated the literary production for the next two centuries, including well-known accounts by
Jean de Léry Jean de Léry (1536–1613) was an explorer, writer and Reformed pastor born in Lamargelle, Côte-d'Or, France. Scholars disagree about whether he was a member of the lesser nobility or merely a shoemaker. Either way, he was not a public figure pri ...
and
Hans Staden Hans Staden (c. 1525 – c. 1576) was a German soldier and explorer who voyaged to South America in the middle of the sixteenth century, where he was captured by the Tupinambá people of Brazil. He managed to survive and return safe to Europe. In ...
, whose story of his encounter with the
Tupi Indians A subdivision of the Tupi-Guarani linguistic families, the Tupi people were one of the largest groups of indigenous Brazilians before its colonization. Scholars believe that while they first settled in the Amazon rainforest, from about 2,900 ...
on the coast of São Paulo was extraordinarily influential for European conceptions of the New World. A few more explicitly literary examples survive from this period, such as
Basílio da Gama José Basílio da Gama (April 10, 1740 – July 31, 1795) was a Portuguese poet and member of the Society of Jesus, born in the colony of Brazil, famous for the epic poem '' O Uraguai''. He wrote under pen name Termindo Sipílio. He is patron of t ...
's epic poem celebrating the conquest of the Guarany Missions by the Portuguese, and the work of
Gregório de Matos Gregório de Matos e Guerra (December 23, 1636 – November 26, 1696) was a famous Colonial Brazilian Baroque poet. Although he wrote many lyrical and religious poems, he was better known for his satirical ones, most of them criticizing the Cath ...
, a 17th-century
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
from
Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...
who produced a sizable amount of
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
, religious, and secular
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
. Matos drew heavily from
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
influences such as the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
poets
Luis de Góngora Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora; ; 11 July 1561 – 24 May 1627) was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic priest. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered the most prominent ...
and
Francisco de Quevedo Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas, Knight of the Order of Santiago (; 14 September 1580 – 8 September 1645) was a Spanish nobleman, politician and writer of the Baroque era. Along with his lifelong rival, Luis de Góngora, ...
.
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
was widespread in Brazil during the mid-18th century, following the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
style. Literature was often produced by members of temporary or semi-permanent academies and most of the content was in the
pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
genre. The most important literary centre in colonial Brazil was the prosperous
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
region, known for its
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to: *Gold Mine (board game) *Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena *"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album '' ADHD'' See also * ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith *Gold mining ...
s, where a thriving proto-nationalist movement had begun. The most important poets were
Cláudio Manuel da Costa Cláudio Manuel da Costa (June 4, 1729 – July 4, 1789) was a Brazilian poet and musician, considered to be the introducer of Neoclassicism in Brazil. He wrote under the pen name Glauceste Satúrnio, and his most famous work is the epic poem '' ...
,
Tomás António Gonzaga Tomás António Gonzaga (11 August 1744c. 1810) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian poet. One of the most famous Neoclassic colonial Brazilian writers, he was also the ''ouvidor'' and the ombudsman of the city of Ouro Preto (formerly "Vila Rica" ...
,
Alvarenga Peixoto Inácio José de Alvarenga Peixoto (1744–1793) was a Colonial Brazilian Neoclassicism, Neoclassic poet and lawyer. He wrote under the pen name Eureste Fenício. The design of the flag of Minas Gerais is attributed to him. Biography Peixoto was ...
and
Manuel Inácio da Silva Alvarenga Manuel Inácio da Silva Alvarenga (1749–1814) was a Brazilian poet. He had a life-long commitment to life-long learning and promoting civic values and educational reforms. Silva Alvarenga edited one of the first newspapers in Brazil, ''O Patriota ...
, all them involved in an uprising against the colonial power. Gonzaga and Costa were exiled to Africa as a consequence.


Romanticism

Neoclassicism lasted for an unnaturally long time, stifling innovation and restricting literary creation. It was only in 1836 that
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
began influencing Brazilian poetry on a large scale, principally through the efforts of the expatriate poet Gonçalves de Magalhães. A number of young poets, such as Casimiro de Abreu, began experimenting with the new style soon afterward. This period produced some of the first standard works of Brazilian literature. The key features of the literature of the newborn country are exaggerated affect, nationalism, celebration of nature and the initial introduction of colloquial language. Romantic literature soon became very popular. Novelists like
Joaquim Manuel de Macedo Joaquim Manuel de Macedo (June 24, 1820 – May 11, 1882) was a Brazilian novelist, doctor, teacher, poet, playwright and journalist, famous for the romance '' A Moreninha''. He is the patron of the 20th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. ...
,
Manuel Antônio de Almeida Manuel Antônio de Almeida (November 17, 1831 – November 28, 1861) was a Brazilian satirical writer, medician and teacher. He is famous for the book '' Memoirs of a Police Sergeant'', written under the pen name Um Brasileiro ( en, A Brazilian ...
and
José de Alencar José Martiniano de Alencar (May 1, 1829 – December 12, 1877) was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He is considered to be one of the most famous and influential Brazilian Romantic novelists of the 19th century, ...
published their works in serial form in the newspapers and became national celebrities. Around 1850, a transition began, centered on
Álvares de Azevedo Manuel Antônio Álvares de Azevedo (September 12, 1831 – April 25, 1852), affectionately called "Maneco" by his close friends, relatives and admirers, was a Brazilian Romantic poet, short story writer, playwright and essayist, considered to b ...
. Azevedo's short story collection ''
Noite na Taverna ''Noite na Taverna'' (in en, A Night in the Tavern) is a short story collection written by Brazilian Ultra-Romantic author Álvares de Azevedo under the pen name Job Stern. It was published posthumously, in 1855; three years after Azevedo's deat ...
'' ( en, A Night at the Tavern) and his poetry, collected posthumously in '' Lira dos Vinte Anos'' ( en, Twenty-year-old Lyre), became influential. Azevedo was largely influenced by the poetry of
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
and
Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...
. This second Romantic generation was obsessed with morbidity and death. At the same time, poets such as
Castro Alves Antônio Frederico de Castro Alves (14 March 1847 – 6 July 1871) was a Brazilian poet and playwright, famous for his Abolitionism, abolitionist and Republicanism, republican poems. One of the most famous poets of the "Condorism", he won the ...
, who wrote of the horrors of slavery (''Navio Negreiro''), began writing works with a specific progressive social agenda. The two trends coincided in one of the most important accomplishments of the Romantic era: the establishment of a Brazilian national identity based on
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
ancestry and the rich nature of the country. These traits first appeared in
Gonçalves Dias Antônio Gonçalves Dias (; August 10, 1823November 3, 1864) was a Brazilian Romantic poet, playwright, ethnographer, lawyer and linguist. A major exponent of Brazilian Romanticism and of the literary tradition known as " Indianism", he is fam ...
' narrative poem '' I-Juca-Pirama'', but soon became widespread. The consolidation of this subgenre ('' Indianism'') is found in two famous novels by
José de Alencar José Martiniano de Alencar (May 1, 1829 – December 12, 1877) was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He is considered to be one of the most famous and influential Brazilian Romantic novelists of the 19th century, ...
: ''
The Guarani ''The Guarani: Brazilian Romance'' ( pt, O Guarani: Romance Brasileiro) is a 1857 Brazilian novel written by José de Alencar. It was first serialized in the newspaper ''Diário do Rio de Janeiro'', but due to its enormous success Alencar decid ...
'', about a family of Portuguese colonists who took Indians as servants but were later slain by an enemy tribe, and ''
Iracema ''Iracema'' (in Portuguese: ''Iracema - A Lenda do Ceará'') is one of the three indigenous novels by José de Alencar. It was first published in 1865. The novel has been adapted into several films. Plot introduction The story revolves around t ...
'', about a Portuguese shipwrecked man who lives among the Indians and marries a beautiful Indian woman. ''Iracema'' is especially lyrical, opening with five paragraphs of pure free-style
prose poetry Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form, while preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis, and emotional effects. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associ ...
describing the title character. File:Luiz Gama c 1880.png,
Luís Gama Luís Gonzaga Pinto da Gama (Salvador, June 21, 1830 – São Paulo, August 24, 1882) was a Brazilian (self-taught lawyer), abolitionist, orator, journalist and writer, and the Patron of the . Born to a free black mother and a white father, he ...
File:José de Alencar.jpg,
José de Alencar José Martiniano de Alencar (May 1, 1829 – December 12, 1877) was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He is considered to be one of the most famous and influential Brazilian Romantic novelists of the 19th century, ...
File:Gonçalves de Magalhães.jpg,
Gonçalves de Magalhães, Viscount of Araguaia Domingos José Gonçalves de Magalhães, Viscount of Araguaia (August 13, 1811 – July 10, 1882), was a Brazilian poet, playwright, physician and diplomat. He is considered the founder of Romanticism in Brazilian literature, and was a pioneer of t ...


Realism

The decline of Romanticism, along with a series of social transformations, occurred in the middle of the 19th century. A new form of
prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...
writing emerged, including analysis of the indigenous people and description of the environment, in the ''regionalist'' authors (such as
Franklin Távora João Franklin da Silveira Távora (January 13, 1842 – August 18, 1888) was a Brazilian novelist, journalist, politician, lawyer and dramatist, famous for his Regionalist romance '' O Cabeleira'', set in 18th-century Pernambuco. He wrote under t ...
and
João Simões Lopes Neto João Simões Lopes Neto (March 9, 1865 – June 14, 1916) was a Brazilian regionalism (art), regionalist writer from Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul. After some unsuccessful business ventures, Neto married at 27. He only wrote four significan ...
). Under the influence of Naturalism and of writers like
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...
,
Aluísio Azevedo Aluísio Tancredo Gonçalves de Azevedo (; 14 April 1857 – 21 January 1913) was a Brazilian novelist, caricaturist, diplomat, playwright and short story writer. Initially a Romantic writer, he would later adhere to the Naturalist movement. He ...
wrote ''O Cortiço'', with characters that represent all social classes and categories of the time. Brazilian Realism was not very original at first, but it took on extraordinary importance because of
Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...
and
Euclides da Cunha Euclides da Cunha (, January 20, 1866 – August 15, 1909) was a Brazilian journalist, sociologist and engineer. His most important work is '' Os Sertões'' (''Rebellion in the Backlands''), a non-fictional account of the military expeditions ...
.


Machado de Assis

Usually appointed as the greatest Brazilian writer of all times,
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...
(1839–1908) is also the most important writer of Brazilian Realism. Born in Rio de Janeiro City (by the time, imperial capital of Brazil), he was the natural son of a half-black wallpainter and a Portuguese woman, whose only education, besides literacy classes, was the extensive reading of borrowed books. Working as typesetter at a publishing house, he was soon acquainted with most of the world's literature and became fluent in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and French. In his early career he wrote several best-selling novels (including '' A Mão e a Luva'' and '' Ressurreição'') which, despite their overzealous Romanticism, already show his vivacious humour and some of his pessimism towards the conventions of society. After being introduced to
Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...
, Machado de Assis changed his style and his themes, producing some of the most remarkable prose ever written in Portuguese. The style served as the medium for his corrosive humour and his intense pessimism, which was very far from the plain conceptions of his contemporaries. Machado's most crucial works include: * ''
Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas Memoria refers to one of five canons in classical rhetoric. Memoria, or Memorias (Spanish), or Memórias (Portuguese) may also refer to: Books and texts * Memoria Apostolorum, lost text of the New Testament apocrypha *''Memorias'', Spanish-langu ...
'' (''The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas''), the fictional
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
of a recently deceased man, written by himself "from beyond". It is entirely anti-Romantic and ridicules the society of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
of the time. This book contains one of the most pitiless sentences about love ever written: "Marcela amou-me durante quinze meses e onze contos de réis; nada menos". (Marcela loved me for fifteen months and eleven thousand
réis The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced ; pl. ''réis''), with the symbol Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire, it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 1942 ...
; nothing less.) * ''
Dom Casmurro ''Dom Casmurro'' is an 1899 novel written by Brazilian author Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. Like ''The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas'' and ''Quincas Borba'', both by Machado de Assis, it is widely regarded as a masterpiece of realist litera ...
'' purports to be the autobiography of a lonely man who has left his wife and his only son after enjoying years of happy conjugal life. The novel is famous in the Portuguese-speaking world for its analysis of a (possible, but never proven or admitted) case of
adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
. * ''
Quincas Borba Quincas may refer to: * Quincas Borba, a novel written in 1891 by the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis * Joaquim Albino (1931), generally known as ''Quincas'', Brazilian footballer (Canto do Rio, Fluminense, Palmeiras) {{disambig ...
'' * '' O Alienista'', the short story about a
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
who founds a hospital for the mentally ill in a small town and later engages in profound investigations on the nature and the cure of mental illness, greatly upsetting the town's lifestyle. Machado was also a minor poet, writing mostly casual poetry of extraordinary correctness and beauty. His reputation as a novelist has kept his poetry in print, and recent criticism has regarded it better than that of many of his contemporaries. Image:Machado_de_Assis_aos_57_anos.jpg,
Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...
Image:Aluisio_Azevedo.jpg,
Aluísio Azevedo Aluísio Tancredo Gonçalves de Azevedo (; 14 April 1857 – 21 January 1913) was a Brazilian novelist, caricaturist, diplomat, playwright and short story writer. Initially a Romantic writer, he would later adhere to the Naturalist movement. He ...
Image:Raul Pompeia.jpg,
Raul Pompeia Raul d'Ávila Pompeia (April 12, 1863 – December 25, 1895) was a Brazilian novelist, short story writer and chronicler. He is famous for the Impressionist romance ''O Ateneu''. He is patron of the 33rd chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters ...
Image:Olavobil.jpg,
Olavo Bilac Olavo Brás Martins dos Guimarães Bilac (16 December 1865 – 28 December 1918), known simply as Olavo Bilac (), was a Brazilian Parnassianism, Parnassian poet, journalist and translator. Alongside Alberto de Oliveira and Raimundo Correia, he w ...
Image:Raimundo_Correia.jpg,
Raimundo Correia Raimundo da Mota de Azevedo Correia (May 13, 1859 – September 13, 1911) was a Brazilian Parnassian poet, judge and magistrate. Alongside Alberto de Oliveira and Olavo Bilac, he was a member of the "Parnassian Triad". He founded and occupied th ...


Pre-Modernism

The period between 1895 and 1922 is called Pre-Modernism by Brazilian scholars because, though there is no clear predominance of any style, there are some early manifestations of Modernism. The Pre-Modern era is curious, as the French school of
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...
did not catch on and most authors of Realism still maintained their earlier styles and their reputations (including
Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...
and poet
Olavo Bilac Olavo Brás Martins dos Guimarães Bilac (16 December 1865 – 28 December 1918), known simply as Olavo Bilac (), was a Brazilian Parnassianism, Parnassian poet, journalist and translator. Alongside Alberto de Oliveira and Raimundo Correia, he w ...
). Some authors of this time were
Monteiro Lobato José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato (18 April 1882 – 4 July 1948) was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (Yellow Woodpecker Farm) but he had been previously ...
,
Lima Barreto Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto (13 May 1881 – 1 November 1922) was a Brazilian novelist and journalist. A major figure in Brazilian Pre-Modernism, he is famous for the novel '' Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma'', a bitter satire of the first ...
, Simões Lopes Neto and
Augusto dos Anjos Augusto de Carvalho Rodrigues dos Anjos (April 20, 1884 – November 12, 1914) was a Brazilian poet and professor. His poems speak mostly of sickness and death, and are considered the forerunners of Modernism in Brazil. He is the patron of the f ...
.


Euclides da Cunha

An acclaimed writer highly influenced by
determinism Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and consi ...
, Cunha was always tormented by his family problems (he was killed by his wife's lover) and had to face political opposition because of his opinions. As a freelance journalist working for ''
O Estado de S. Paulo ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to berliner on October 17, 2021. It has t ...
'' he covered the Canudos War—a popular revolt with some egalitarian and Christian-fundamentalist traits that took place in
Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...
in 1895-97. His stories, together with some essays he wrote about the people and the geography of the Brazilian North-East, were published in a thick volume called '' Os Sertões'' (''Rebellion in the Backlands''). In his work Cunha put forward the revolutionary thesis that the Brazilian state was a violent and foreign entity, rejected (but often tolerated) by the vast majority of the illiterate and dispossessed population, some of whom preserved beliefs and behaviours that had not changed in a thousand years or more. He discovered, for instance, that
Sebastianism Sebastianism () is a Portuguese messianic myth, based on the belief that King Sebastian of Portugal, who disappeared in the battle of Alcácer Quibir, would reappear and return to Portugal at some, critical, point in the future. The belief gain ...
was then present in the Brazilian North-East and that many medieval Portuguese rhymes, folk-tales and traditions were still kept by the coarse people of the "sertões". This population did not accept
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
, the
Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
an government and, especially, justice or peace. His trilogy Os Sertões is composed of three parts titled "The Land", "The Man" and "The fight". Such organization of the book reinforces the idea that the environment where a man was born, the social aspects of his residence and the man's culture may define what he will become. This principle is known as
determinism Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and consi ...
, a way of thought that deeply influenced Brazilian literature during the mid- and late 19th century and the early 20th century. Image:Euclides_da_Cunha.jpg,
Euclides da Cunha Euclides da Cunha (, January 20, 1866 – August 15, 1909) was a Brazilian journalist, sociologist and engineer. His most important work is '' Os Sertões'' (''Rebellion in the Backlands''), a non-fictional account of the military expeditions ...
Image:LimaBarreto.jpg,
Lima Barreto Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto (13 May 1881 – 1 November 1922) was a Brazilian novelist and journalist. A major figure in Brazilian Pre-Modernism, he is famous for the novel '' Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma'', a bitter satire of the first ...
Image:Augusto_Anjos.jpg,
Augusto dos Anjos Augusto de Carvalho Rodrigues dos Anjos (April 20, 1884 – November 12, 1914) was a Brazilian poet and professor. His poems speak mostly of sickness and death, and are considered the forerunners of Modernism in Brazil. He is the patron of the f ...


Modernism

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
began in Brazil with the
Week of Modern Art The Modern Art Week ( pt, Semana de Arte Moderna) was an arts festival in São Paulo, Brazil, that ran from February 10 to February 17, 1922. Historically, the Week marked the start of Brazilian Modernism; though a number of individual Brazilian ...
, in 1922. The ''1922 Generation'' was a nickname for the writers
Mário de Andrade Mário Raul de Morais Andrade (October 9, 1893 – February 25, 1945) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. He wrote one of the first and most influential collections of modern Brazilian poetr ...
(''
Paulicéia Desvairada ''Paulicéia Desvairada'' (from the Portuguese, literally "''Frantic São Paulo''", often translated as "''Hallucinated City''") is a collection of poems by Mário de Andrade, published in 1922. It was Andrade's second poetry collection, and his ...
'', '' Macunaíma''),
Oswald de Andrade José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born, spent most of his life and died in São Paulo. Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism and a m ...
('' Memórias Sentimentais de João Miramar''),
Manuel Bandeira Manuel Carneiro de Sousa Bandeira Filho (April 19, 1886 – October 13, 1968) was a Brazilian poet, literary critic, and translator, who wrote over 20 books of poetry and prose. Life and career Bandeira was born in Recife, Pernambuco. In 190 ...
,
Cassiano Ricardo Cassiano Ricardo (July 26, 1895 – January 14, 1974) was a Brazilian journalist, literary critic, and poet. An exponent of the nationalistic tendencies of Brazilian modernism, he was associated with the ''Green-Yellow'' and ''Anta'' groups ...
and others, all of whom combined nationalist tendencies with an interest in European modernism. Some new movements such as
surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
were already important in Europe, and began to take hold in Brazil during this period.


Mário de Andrade

Mário de Andrade Mário Raul de Morais Andrade (October 9, 1893 – February 25, 1945) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. He wrote one of the first and most influential collections of modern Brazilian poetr ...
was born in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
. He worked as a professor and was one of the organizers of the Week of Modern Art. He researched Brazilian
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
and
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
and used it in his books, avoiding the European style. His Brazilian anti-hero is Macunaíma, a product of ethnical and cultural mixture. Andrade's interest in folklore and his use of colloquial language were extremely influential.


Oswald de Andrade

Oswald de Andrade José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born, spent most of his life and died in São Paulo. Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism and a m ...
, another participant in the Week of Modern Art in 1922, worked as a journalist in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
. Born into a wealthy family, he travelled to
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
several times. Of the generation of 1922, Oswald de Andrade best represents the rebellious characteristics of the modernist movement. He is the author of the ''Manifesto Antropófago (
Cannibal Manifesto Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...
)'' (1927), in which he says it is necessary that Brazil, like a
cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...
, eat foreign culture and, in
digestion Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small water-soluble food molecules so that they can be absorbed into the watery blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intest ...
, create its own culture.


30s generation

After the modernist critique there was a generation of writers which actually "regressed" in terms of "modernist" ideas of experimentation, and which instead focused on social criticism. In literary criticism however they are mostly regarded as a development within modernism and grouped within the term "Geração de 30"(30s generation).
Jorge Amado Jorge Leal Amado de Faria (10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in ...
, one of best-known of modern Brazilian writers, tried with his novels to approximate his works to a
proletarian literature Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is ...
, he himself was a member of the communist party which defended
Socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
at the time.
Rachel de Queiroz Rachel de Queiroz (, November 17, 1910 – November 4, 2003) was a Brazilian author, translator and journalist. Biography Rachel de Queiroz was born on 17 November 1910 in Fortaleza, capital of the northeastern state of Ceará. During her ...
, and
José Lins do Rego José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
were other important writers of this generation. File:Mario de andrade 1928b.png, Mario de Andrade File:Oswald de andrade 1920.jpg,
Oswald de Andrade José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born, spent most of his life and died in São Paulo. Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism and a m ...
File:Jose lins 1918.jpg,
José Lins do Rego José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...
File:Jorge Amado, 1970.tif,
Jorge Amado Jorge Leal Amado de Faria (10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in ...


Post-Modernism

What defined Brazilian modernism were two main traits: experiments in language and an enhanced social consciousness, or a mix between the two - as was the case with Oswald de Andrade, who was briefly attracted towards the
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
movement. The reaction to modernism, then, assumed the form of a mix between its most salient trait, the use of more formal literary language (as was the case of the so-called "generation of 1945", whose twin hallmarks were, firstly, the highly physical poetry of
João Cabral de Melo Neto João Cabral de Melo Neto (January 6, 1920 – October 9, 1999) was a Brazilian poet and diplomat, and one of the most influential writers in late Brazilian modernism. He was awarded the 1990 Camões Prize and the 1992 Neustadt International Pr ...
, who opposed
Carlos Drummond de Andrade Carlos Drummond de Andrade () (October 31, 1902 – August 17, 1987) was a Brazilian poet and writer, considered by some as the greatest Brazilian poet of all time. He has become something of a national cultural symbol in Brazil, where his wi ...
's poetic modernism, and secondly the
sonnets A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...
- on both the Italian and English model - of the early
Vinicius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwright ...
), followed by varying doses, according to the author considered, of subjectivism, political conservatism and militant Catholicism. Two writers from that "school" that have published after the 1950s are without a doubt already inside the canon of Brazilian literature:
Clarice Lispector Clarice Lispector (born Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector ( uk, Хая Пінкасівна Ліспектор); December 10, 1920December 9, 1977) was a Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short story writer. Her innovative, idiosyncratic works exp ...
, whose existentialist novels and short stories are filled with stream-of-consciousness and epiphanies, and
João Guimarães Rosa João Guimarães Rosa (; 27 June 1908 – 19 November 1967) was a Brazilian novelist, short story writer and diplomat. Rosa only wrote one novel, '' Grande Sertão: Veredas'' (known in English as ''The Devil to Pay in the Backlands''), a revoluti ...
, whose experimental language has changed the face of Brazilian literature forever. His novel '' Grande Sertão: Veredas'' has been compared to
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
's ''
Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...
'' or
Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...
's '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' and featured in the
Bokklubben World Library Bokklubben World Library ( no, Verdensbiblioteket) is a series of classical books, mostly novels, published by the since 2002. It is based on a list of the hundred best books, as proposed by one hundred writers from fifty-four countries, compiled ...
list of 100 best novels of all time.
João Guimarães Rosa João Guimarães Rosa (; 27 June 1908 – 19 November 1967) was a Brazilian novelist, short story writer and diplomat. Rosa only wrote one novel, '' Grande Sertão: Veredas'' (known in English as ''The Devil to Pay in the Backlands''), a revoluti ...
is considered by many to be the greatest Brazilian writer. Following the wake of conservative subjectivism inaugurated by the militantly Catholic novelists-cum-polemicists
Octavio de Faria Octavio is a Spanish language masculine given name. In the Portuguese language the given name Octavio or Octávio is also found, but in Portuguese the normal spelling is Otávio. It is also used as a surname in the Philippines. Individuals * Octa ...
,
Lúcio Cardoso Joaquim Lúcio Cardoso Filho, known as Lúcio Cardoso (August 14, 1912 – September 22, 1968), was a Brazilian novelist, playwright, and poet. Biography The son of an impoverished but prominent family in Curvelo, Minas Gerais, Lúcio Cardoso wa ...
, Cornélio Penna and
Gustavo Corção Gustavo Corção Braga (17 December 1896 – 6 July 1978) was a Brazilian Roman Catholic writer. Career overview Corção was educated at the Escola Politécnica da UFRJ, Polytechnic School of UFRJ, but left the institution in 1920 without obtai ...
,
Nelson Rodrigues Nelson Falcão Rodrigues (August 23, 1912 – December 21, 1980) was a Brazilian playwright, journalist and novelist. In 1943, he helped usher in a new era in Brazilian theater with his play ''Vestido de Noiva (The Wedding Dress)'', considered ...
made his career as a playwright and sports journalist. His plays and short stories - the latter mostly originally published as newspaper ''
feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criti ...
s'' - chronicled the social mores of the 1950s and 1960s; adultery and sexual pathologies in general being a major fixation of his. His sports writing describes the evolution of
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
into the national passion of Brazil. He was heavily critical of the young leftists who opposed the military dictatorship after the 1964 coup; for that he was penned as right-wing and conservative. For a time heavily pro-dictatorship, he had to suffer the tragic fate of having one of his sons being tortured and incarcerated for belonging to an underground guerrilla organization. File:Graciliano Ramos, 1940.tif,
Graciliano Ramos Graciliano Ramos de Oliveira () (October 27, 1892 – March 20, 1953) was a Brazilian modernist writer, politician and journalist. He is known worldwide for his portrayal of the precarious situation of the poor inhabitants of the Brazilian ''sert ...
File:Cecília Meireles, sem data.tif,
Cecília Meireles Cecília Benevides de Carvalho Meireles (7 November 1901 – 9 November 1964) was a Brazilian writer and educator, known principally as a poet. She is a canonical name of Brazilian Modernism, one of the great female poets in the Portuguese l ...
File:Guimarães Rosa, anos 1960.tif,
Guimarães Rosa Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...
File:Lêdo Ivo, sem data.tif,
Lêdo Ivo Lêdo Ivo (18 February 1924 – 23 December 2012) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, essayist and journalist. He was member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, elected in 1986. Biography Lêdo Ivo was born in 1924 in Maceió, capital of Alagoas ...
File:Clarice Lispector, 1972.tif,
Clarice Lispector Clarice Lispector (born Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector ( uk, Хая Пінкасівна Ліспектор); December 10, 1920December 9, 1977) was a Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short story writer. Her innovative, idiosyncratic works exp ...
File:Vinicius de Moraes, 1973.tif,
Vinicius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwright ...
File:Rachel de Queiroz, 1971.tif,
Rachel de Queiroz Rachel de Queiroz (, November 17, 1910 – November 4, 2003) was a Brazilian author, translator and journalist. Biography Rachel de Queiroz was born on 17 November 1910 in Fortaleza, capital of the northeastern state of Ceará. During her ...
File:Carlos Drummond de Andrade, 1970.tif,
Carlos Drummond de Andrade Carlos Drummond de Andrade () (October 31, 1902 – August 17, 1987) was a Brazilian poet and writer, considered by some as the greatest Brazilian poet of all time. He has become something of a national cultural symbol in Brazil, where his wi ...


Contemporary

Contemporary Brazilian literature is, on the whole, very much focused on city life and all its aspects: loneliness, violence, political issues and media control. Writers like Rubem Fonseca,
Sérgio Sant'Anna Sérgio Sant'Anna (30 October 1941 – 10 May 2020) was a Brazilian writer, born in Rio de Janeiro. Life He wrote poems, plays, short stories, novellas and novels. His works have been translated to German and Italian. His works are heavily meta ...
have written important books with these themes in the 1970s, breaking new ground in Brazilian literature, up until then mostly having dealt with rural life. New trends since the 1980s have included works by authors such as Caio Fernando Abreu,
João Gilberto Noll João Gilberto Noll (April 15, 1946 – March 29, 2017) was a Brazilian writer, born in Porto Alegre, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. His early years were spent studying at the Catholic Colégio São Pedro. In 1967 he began ...
,
Milton Hatoum Milton Hatoum (born August 19, 1952) is a Brazilian writer, translator and professor. Hatoum is one of Brazil's most eminent contemporary writers. Among other honors, Hatoum was awarded Brazil's most prestigious literary award, the Jabuti Prize, ...
,
Bernardo Carvalho Bernardo Carvalho (born 1960 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian author and journalist. He was the editor of “ Folhetim,” a collection of essays, and is a Paris and New York correspondent for Folha de S.Paulo. His first two novels were edited in ...
, João Almino, Adriana Lisboa and Cristovão Tezza. Poets such as Ferreira Gullar and
Manoel de Barros Manoel Wenceslau Leite de Barros (December 19, 1916 – November 13, 2014) was a Brazilian poet. He won many awards for his work, including twice the Prêmio Jabuti (the "Tortoise Prize"), the most important literary award in Brazil. Barros was b ...
are among the most acclaimed within literary circles in Brazil, the former had been nominated for the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
. In recent years, "marginal literature" has risen to prominence with authors and poets such as Sérgio Vaz and Ferréz making appearances at important events like
Festa Literária Internacional de Paraty The Festa Literária Internacional de Paraty (International Literary Festival of Paraty- FLIP) is a literary festival held yearly since 2003 in the Brazilian city of Paraty, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The festival usually happens in early Ju ...
, Flipside and Bienal do Livro de São Paulo. Other poets such as
Adélia Prado Adélia Luzia Prado Freitas (born 13 December 1935) is a Brazilian writer and poet. Life She was born in Divinópolis, Minas Gerais (one of the landlocked states of Brazil), where she still lives. Her family were railroad laborers, and both h ...
,
Elisa Lucinda Elisa Lucinda (born February 2, 1958) is a Brazilian actress, singer, poet, writer and journalist. Born in Cariacica, Espírito Santo, she studied poetry between the age of 11 and 17. Lucinda attended journalism school at Vitória, when she work ...
, Luis Alexandre Ribeiro Branco, are among the contemporary poets. Image:Lygia_Fagundes_Telles.jpg,
Lygia Fagundes Telles Lygia Fagundes da Silva Telles ( de Azevedo Fagundes; ; 19 April 1918 – 3 April 2022) was a Brazilian novelist and writer. Educated as a lawyer, she began publishing soon after she completed high school and simultaneously worked as a solicitor ...
Image:Joao_Ubaldo_Ribeiro.jpg,
João Ubaldo Ribeiro João Ubaldo Ribeiro (January 23, 1941 – July 18, 2014) was a Brazilian writer, journalist, screenwriter and professor. Several of his books and short stories have been turned into movies and TV series in Brazil. Ribeiro was a member of the Br ...
Image:Moacir_Scliar.jpg,
Moacyr Scliar Moacyr Jaime Scliar (March 23, 1937February 27, 2011) was a Brazilian writer and physician. Most of his writing centers on issues of Jewish identity in the Diaspora and particularly on being Jewish in Brazil. Scliar is best known outside Brazil ...


See also

* List of Brazilian writers *
Latin American literature Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and the indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the ...
*
Angolan literature Angolan literature has its origins in the mid-19th century. The diversity of Angola's culture is reflected in the diversity of its literature, which traditionally has been combative and satirical. As Angola was a colony of Portugal, it is a Lu ...
*
Portuguese literature Portuguese literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the Portuguese language, particularly by citizens of Portugal; it may also refer to literature written by people living in Portugal, Brazil, Angola and Mozambique, and other P ...
*
Brazilian art The creation of art in the geographic area now known as Brazil begins with the earliest records of its human habitation. The original inhabitants of the land, pre-Columbian Indigenous or Natives peoples, produced various forms of art; specific c ...
*
Brazilian science fiction Brazilian science fiction has been a part of Brazilian literature since the mid 19th century. The first works of Brazilian Science Fiction emerged in the decades following Brazil's independence. Brazilian science fiction has its roots in author ...


References


Bibliography

* * *


Further reading

* Arce, Emilia Isabel.
La institucionalización del rol materno durante gobiernos autoritarios: respuestas de escritoras argentinas y brasileñas a la construcción patriarcal de género y nación
.
Archive
(PhD thesis).
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, May 2009. (English abstract included.)


External links


Portugueses de Papel
A database of Portuguese characters in Brazilian novels {{DEFAULTSORT:Brazilian Literature South American literature Latin American literature by country