Tuesday, March 31, 2015 -
2:00pm to 3:45pm
Virginia Woolf Building (VWB), King's College, 22 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NR
Room 6.01
In Brazil, the majority of writers are male, white, heterosexual, middle-class and urban, according to data provided by the national research project Retratos da Leitura no Brasil (2012). Their readership is also predominantly middle class. An important issue, therefore, is the extent to which Brazilian literature reflects the range and multitude of experiences of people living in Brazil.
Two seminars, under the heading of Brazilian literature: other voices, will bring to London Daniel Munduruku and Conceição Evaristo, writers who explore the tensions in a country full of promise but whose idiosyncrasies are a constant challenge to its development. These writers will be at Salon du Livre 2015 in Paris, representing a minority view, and this represents a unique opportunity to bring to the UK authors whose work is central to the debate about the role Brazilian literature plays either in challenging or in maintaining social exclusion.
Daniel Munduruku spoke on Wednesday 18 March and Conceição Evaristo speaks on Tuesday 31 March (details below).
14:00 – 14:05 Welcome – Cinthya Lana
14:05 – 14:50 Conceição Evaristo and the racial and sexist question
Maria da Conceição Evaristo Brito publishes poetry and fiction. She deals mainly with genre and ethnic issues in her works. Her novel Ponciá Vivêncio (2003) has been translated into English and French. Part of her lyrical production is published in "Cadernos Negros", by Grupo Quilombhoje, from São Paulo. She was born in a favela in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and worked as a housekeeper until graduating as a teacher. She obtained a degree in Portuguese/Literature, a Masters in Brazilian Literature and a PhD in Comparative Literature. In her talk she will address the difficulties of being a black woman writer in Brazil, the myth of racial democracy, and the ways in which the current social panorama affects her work.
Chair: Claire Williams (Oxford)
14:50 – 15:30 Debate
15:30 – 15:40 Concluding remarks: Federico Bonaddio
Global Brazil
Contact name: Claire Williams
Contact email: claire.williams@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk
Audience: Open to all
