The permanence of Regionalism in Brazilian contemporary literature

Abstract

This article analyses the permanence of traces of Regionalism in Brazilian contemporary fiction. Regarded as outdated by literary criticism and disavowed by writers, Regionalism has entered the history of Brazilian literature as synonymous with art of low aesthetic quality. Nevertheless, regional themes have never ceased to be subject matters for Brazilian fictional narrative, from Guimarães Rosa, Erico Verissimo, and Josué Guimarães, to Luiz Antonio de Assis Brasil, Antônio Torres, and Milton Hatoum. It ispossible to notice that the difference between the present and the past resides in the emphasis assigned by writers to regional context and space, at first vainglorious about regional singularities, and concerned, in contemporaneity, with problematizing cultural contrasts. It can be concluded that Brazilian contemporary literature is indebted to the regionalist tradition, which does not imply questioning its aesthetic quality, and that it is up to literary criticism to investigate themes and narrative forms as keys to interpret persisting historical problems.

Keywords

• brazilian contemporary literature
• region
• regionalism