The right to Afro-Brazilian Literature

Abstract

The earliest records of Black literature in Brazil date back to the beginning of the second half of the 19th century. Its precursors are Luiz Gama (1830-1882), with the publication of Getulino's First Burlesque Ballads in 1859 in the city of São Paulo Paulo, and Maria Firmina dos Reis (1822-1917), with the publication of the novel Úrsula, also in 1859, in the city of São Luís do Maranhão. However, to this day, even though nearly 160 years have passed since the first publication of these inaugural works, both the authors and their writings remain unknown to the majority of our population. If access to literature is to be understood as a basic human right, as Antonio Candido suggested in his classic essay entitled The Right to Literature, why do certain aspects of our literary creation, such as Afro-Brazilian literature, continue to be rejected by a considerable portion of our Academy, ignored by the great conglomerates of the Brazilian publishing market or even discredited through criticism and by the readership? If, in fact, literature is a fundamental right of all individuals, what literature are we actually talking about? Taking these questions as a starting point, this article aims to reflect on the existing relationship between the formation of the Brazilian literary canon, the racism and sexism that devastate the whole of our society, seeking, in the first instance, to dialogue with the ideas of the sociologist and literary critic contained in his essay, in order to thereby reassess the scope and the possible meanings of this fundamental right.