DECODING THE INVISIBLE INK: BLACK READERSHIP OF MACHADO DE ASSIS IN THE PAGES OF GETULINO, O CLARIM D'ALVORADA AND A VOZ DA RAÇA (1923-1933)

Abstract

Abstract: In this essay, we examine the resonance of Machado de Assis in the São Paulo Black Press during the early twentieth century. Despite relentless attempts to whitewash his image, we analyze the pioneering efforts to read Machado as an Afro-Brazilian author through an exploration of four engagements with his oeuvre in the newspapers Getulino (1923-1924) , O Clarim d'Alvorada ( 1924 ), and A Voz da Raça ( 1933 ) . By decoding the "invisible ink" in Machadian writing, the Black readership pursued a dual goal: legitimizing their own literary endeavors within a predominantly White and hostile framework while making historical anti-Black violence and the echoes of slavery in republican Brazil more intelligible.

Keywords

• Machado de Assis
• São Paulo Black Press
• Black Readership