Cecília Meireles
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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 Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
, one of the great female poets in the
Portuguese language Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom ...
, and is widely considered the best female poet from Brazil, though she objected to the word ''poetess'' because of gender discrimination. She traveled in the Americas in the 1940s, visiting the United States,
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,
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,
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and
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
. In the summer of 1940, she gave lectures at the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
,
Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
. She wrote two poems about her time in the capital of Texas, and a long (800 lines) very socially aware poem "USA 1940", which was published posthumously. As a journalist her columns (''crônicas'', or chronicles) focused most often on education, but also on her trips abroad in the western hemisphere,
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, other parts of Europe,
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, and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
(where she received an
honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
). As a poet, her style was mostly neosymbolist and her themes included ephemeral time and the contemplative life. Even though she was not concerned with local color, native vernacular, or experiments in (popular) syntax, she is considered one of the most important poets of the second phase of the Brazilian Modernism, known for nationalistic
vanguardism Vanguardism, a core concept of Leninism, is the idea that a revolutionary vanguard party, composed of the most conscious and disciplined workers, must lead the proletariat in overthrowing capitalism and establishing socialism, ultimately progre ...
. As a teacher she did much to promote educational reforms and advocated the construction of children's
libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
. Between 1935 and 1938, she taught at the short-lived federal-district university in Rio.


Biography

Meireles was "orphaned at age three and raised by her maternal grandmother" (Tapscott 160). As a poet, she made her debut at the age of eighteen, with ''Espectros'' (1919). It has been described as "an airy and vague poetry, languid and fluid, set in an atmosphere of shadows and dreams." The collection of seventeen
sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...
s dealt with various historical personages. Although her next collections included lyrics in
free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry which does not use a prescribed or regular meter or rhyme and tends to follow the rhythm of natural or irregular speech. Free verse encompasses a large range of poetic form, and the distinction between free ...
, she still preferred traditional forms and symbolism. Between 1919 and 1927, she contributed to the magazines ''Árvore Nova'' and ''Terra do Sol''. She was a key figure in the spiritual and transcendental magazine ''Festa''. The Festa poets supported more traditional expression and universality than the
futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
s and
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
writers of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, whose Modern Art Week in 1922 caused much controversy. Meireles always retained symbolist traits. Especially Portuguese poetry interested her. She visited Portugal in 1934 and lectured there on Brazilian literature at the universities of
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
and
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. After 14 years without publishing a book of poetry, Meireles published one of her major works, ''Viagem'' oyage(1939), which marked her poetic maturity. The book had received the annual Poetry Prize from the Brazilian Academy of Letters in 1938. The title refers to a spiritual journey where life and poetry join together. Meireles was a devout
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, but did not emphasize her religious or social stands. In the 1940s Meireles traveled widely and the sea became for her an important image. ''Mar Absoluto'' (1942) was sea poetry with the qualities of so-called pure poetry. In 1953 she participated in a symposium on the work of
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
, and India had a great influence on her work. She had taught herself both
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and
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
. ''Romanceiro da Inconfidência'' (1953) was written in the style of medieval Iberian
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
s. The work draws its subject from the first colonial attempt at Brazilian Independence, in
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
in 1789, and centers on the leader of the uprising,
Joaquim José da Silva Xavier Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (; 12 November 1746 – 21 April 1792), known as Tiradentes (), was a leading member of the colonial Brazilian revolutionary movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira, whose aim was full independence from ...
, who was hailed as another
Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
. ''Giroflê, Giroflá'' (1956) was based on the author's journeys to India and Italy. Meireles was a prolific contributor to Brazilian periodicals, and for a time she served as education editor of Rio's ''Diario de Noticías''. She translated into Portuguese such diverse writers as Maeterlinck,
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...
, Anouilh,
Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...
,
Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...
, Rilke,
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...
, and Pushkin. Her other works include plays and children's books. Cecília Meireles died of cancer in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
on 9 November 1964, two days after her 63rd birthday. During her career Meireles was affected by many of the literary movements of her time. However, her poetry always remained intensely personal. In October 2009 she was one of the three featured authors at the ''Primeiro Congresso de Escritoras Brasileiras em Nova Iorque'' (First Congress of Brazilian Women Writers in New York) at the Centro Cultural Brasil / Brazilian Endowment for the Arts in
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
.


References


Sources

* Karen Peña, ''Poetry and the Realm of the Public Intellectual: The Alternative Destinies of Gabriela Mistral, Cecilia Meireles, and Rosario Castellanos'' (2008); * Darlene Sadlier, ''Imagery and Theme in the Poetry of Cecília Meireles'' (1983); * John Nist, ''The Modernist Movement in Brazil'' (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1967). * Raymond Sayers, "The Poetic Universe of Cecilia Meireles." In ''Romance Studies Offered to Francis Rogers'' (1981) * Marta Peixoto, "The Absent Body: Female Signature and Poetic Convention in Cecilia Meireles." ''Bulletin of Hispanic Studies'' 65.1 (1988). * Stephen Tapscott (Ed.), "Twentieth century Latin American poetry: A bilingual anthology" (160). (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996).


External links


Cecília Meireles
in Vidas Lusófonas {{DEFAULTSORT:Meireles, Cecilia Brazilian Roman Catholics Writers from Rio de Janeiro (city) 1901 births 1964 deaths Hebrew–Portuguese translators English–Portuguese translators Russian–Portuguese translators French–Portuguese translators Spanish–Portuguese translators 20th-century Brazilian translators 20th-century Brazilian poets Brazilian women poets 20th-century Brazilian women writers 20th-century Brazilian journalists