To revisit and update the work of the black novelist Lima Barreto, 22 writers were invited. The result was the book Quilombo do Lima, whose launch became one of the highlights of the program for the 12th edition of the Literary Festival of the Periphery (Flup), held this Saturday (13th) in Rio de Janeiro.
Writer Daiana de Souza tells how the idea came about. “It came from the organizer of Flup, Júlio Ludemir. He suggested a book that could rethink Lima Barreto’s short stories a little for an audience that is of our times. Recreate them, think about them in a different way, to bring Lima Barreto to new readers. The stories were written by people who have already gone through Flup in several other processes over the years. For three or four months, we discussed and chose the stories that we liked the most. And from there, each one wrote his text”.
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Flup was held for the first time in 2012 and, since then, it happens every year, having had some editions that resorted to programming online due to the covid-19 pandemic. The event, which has led the publication of more than 20 books by authors from the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, is held in territories traditionally excluded from literary programs. It has already passed, for example, Morro dos Prazeres and Vigário Geral. This year’s edition takes place at Arena Samol, on Ladeira do Livramento, in the center of Rio de Janeiro.
The program includes a procession, the presentation of the Bloco Prata Preta, the washing of the stairs of the Arena Samol, the dance of the crespinhos, artistic presentations and performances inspired by literary works. The participation of the composer Gilberto Gil and the sambista Haroldo Costa is also expected. The launch of Quilombo do Lima was one of the highlights during the early afternoon.
Author of the famous novel Sad End of Policarpo Quaresma, Lima Barreto produced numerous short stories, satires and chronicles. He was also a critic of the First Brazilian Republic, contesting the boastful nationalism and the maintenance of the privileges of aristocratic families and the military. His literary production focuses on the discussion of themes related to social inequalities and hypocrisy in human relations in society at the beginning of the 20th century. He also gave visibility to life in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro and brought colloquial language closer to the Brazilian novel.
“He has many short stories. So, we had a lot of material to study and to choose from, being able to approach different topics. He spoke a lot about Rio society, discussed political issues, but also spoke about the suburbs, black families and how these people managed to find their places. I chose a story that allowed me to discuss a little bit how we, black people, are multiple humans and we can make mistakes, but it’s important that we have something to go back to. And how important it is also to defend our memory, our stories and the struggles of those who came before us”, says Daiana.
Quilombo de Lima
At the end of last year, an event organized in preparation for the Flup had already been named Quilombo do Lima. The first of the two days of programming was scheduled for October 31, Lima Barreto’s birthday. On the occasion, the writer was honored and remembered at debate tables with black novelists at the Museum of Afro-Brazilian History and Culture (MUHCAB), in downtown Rio de Janeiro. The film was also shown Lima Barreto, On the Third Daydirected by Luiz Antonio Pilar and released in 2018.
Writing one of the short stories in Quilombo do Lima, Sueca believes that the launch of the book enhances the richness of Lima Barreto’s work and, at the same time, makes his contribution to historical reparation. Some of the writer’s most expressive works were published only after his death. Sueca observes that the writer was despised and made invisible by the modernist intellectual elites.
“Mainly because of this hierarchization of writing modes. So we need to reflect: who writes, what writes, where does he write? And Lima Barreto shows that the language that arrives, for example, through orality is also as legitimate as this materialized form of writing”, he evaluates.
For Camila de Araújo, who is also the author of one of the short stories, the launch of the book on May 13, the day the Lei Áurea was signed, is symbolic. She also points out that the rereading of Lima Barreto’s short stories is facilitated by the topicality of the themes he addresses. “He is a forerunner of black literature and the issues he addresses are completely timeless. They completely dialogue with the structural issues that Brazil is beginning to see about blackness, racism, prejudice, religious racism”.
two honors
The choice of location for the Flup in 2023 had a special reason. One of the honorees of this edition is Machado de Assis, who was born in one of the properties located in Ladeira do Livramento. The event proposes a new look at the work of the writer who lived between 1839 and 1908 and is one of the founders of the Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL).
“Machado de Assis. The one you were forced to read even before you became interested in literature. The one who writes difficult and who fails the test, whose work boils down to whether or not Capitu betrayed Bentinho. Machado is not a hermetic intellectual from the south. He never set foot in a university. The Machado you were introduced to at school does not exist. The school does not want to incite the revolution and Machado is a revolutionary. Preto, born in the heart of Morro da Providência, raised on Ladeira do Livramento, son of Maria and Francisco. Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis is closer to our reality than we were led to imagine. This is the Machado they didn’t want you to meet”, record the tribute text.
The other honoree of the edition is the writer, artisan and priestess Mãe Beata de Iemanjá, who died in 2017, who developed work related to the defense and preservation of the environment, human rights, education, health, combating sexism and racism. “She showed with her life story and wisdom the fruits of the Bahian diaspora in Rio de Janeiro and Brazilian culture, strengthening that orality is ancestral writing, perpetuating literary, social and political knowledge”, highlights Flup.
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