Afro-Brazilian poetry: a laboratory of identity

Abstract

In Brazil, the idea of a Black literature never was, and still is not to this day, widely accepted by general audiences. However, from the works of Solano Trindade and Abdias do Nascimento in the first half of the twentieth century to the more recent experimentations of the poets featured in literary journal Cadernos negros, authors have used creative writing as a laboratory for this problematic identity, questioning the dominant Eurocentric narratives of Brazilian history to pave the way for a distinctly Afro-Brazilian voice. Deeply aware of the lingering effects of slavery on contemporary society, these poets have experimented with themes, perspectives, and language from a specific perspective, forming together a community of discourse that has yet to be fully acknowledged alongside better-known examples from the French- and English-speaking Americas.