What's going on in Brazilian poetry right now?

August 13, 2007 12:36 PM

I want to know what the poets in Brazil are doing these days.

I've been reading some Brazilian poetry, but it's mostly older. Carlos Drummond de Andrade, João Cabral, etc. I know a tiny, tiny bit about the Concretist movement and what it left behind. And, I've read through Nothing the Sun Could Not Explain, which as been useful. What's going on in Brazilian poetry RIGHT NOW? Who are the young writers, how are they making use of what's come before, what are they doing differently, etc? Links to informational resources are appreciated, but I'd really like to read some online journals or chapbooks or whatever. I'll be especially grateful for the names of young poets and where to find their work, followed by a discussion of what you love about them. Portuguese is okay, English translation is okay. Tupi-Guarani I might have some trouble with. I'm interested in whatever is out there, from all possible sources, from favela to academia. Thanks for the help.

posted by sleevener to writing & language (3 comments total)

A young name that comes to mind is Fabricio Carpi Nejar, but I have not read his poetry yet so I cannot comment.

You should absolutely check Bruno Tolentino's work, if you haven't already. He's not the new generation, in fact he just died recently, but has been long regarded as one of the greatest Brazilian poets of all time. I also like Paulo Leminski, though his poetry is of a complete different nature than that of Tolentino.

You should read Pedro Sette Camara's blog, he does a series called Domingo com Poesia that might interest you.
posted by AnyGuelmann at 2:13 PM on August 13, 2007

Another website that might interest you: http://www.jornaldepoesia.jor.br
posted by AnyGuelmann at 7:42 AM on August 14, 2007

Great question. I know of one interesting direction that has ties to the favela, academia and the sertão. In the early 1990s in Arcoverde, Pernambuco, on the edge of the sertão, a kid who grew up reciting old cowboy poetry at regional contests from a very young age started to apprentice musically with folk musicians from the area playing afro-, folk catholic and indigenous styles. His name is Lirinha, and his good friend Micheliny also befriended these musicians and ended up writing down what she learned about the styles they played, eventually conducting formal research and writing a thesis on the style samba de coco.

Lirinha put together what started as a poetry/theatre project, and soon became a band, where he would, mid-set, recite both canonic poetry by names such as João Cabral, and oral/cordel-style northeastern poetry by poets such as zé da luz and many others. The power of his incantatory recitations kept audiences rapt without accompaniment for several minutes. Its interesting stuff. The band's name is Cordel do Fogo Encantado and they've put out three records, won lots of critics' awards, and tour all over Brazil and occasionally Europe as well.

Meanwhile, Lirinha's friend Micheliny Verunschk has made a name for herself as a emerging new poet. Despite coming from the sertão, her style purposely avoids regionalisms and has been described as anti-lyrical. It's been compared to João Cabral as well. Here are some links in Portuguese.

She has published two books at this point, Geografia íntima do Deserto and O Observador e o Nada, and is currently working on some short stories. She became more well-known when she was nominated for the Portugal Telecom prize for Geografia intima do Deserto a couple years ago, competing against Chico Buarque and Augusto de Campos, among others. Her husband was the long-time sound engineer for Cordel, and her contacts with the Pernambucan music scene has led to some interesting experimentation with music and poetry.
posted by umbú at 7:41 PM on August 14, 2007