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In Between Wor[l]ds: The Image of the 'entrelugar' in João Cabral de Melo Neto's "Agrestes"

2002; Modern Humanities Research Association; Volume: 18; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/port.2002.0015

2222-4270

Sara Brandellero,

Literature, Culture, and Criticism

InBetween Wor[l]ds: TheImageofthe'entrelugar5 inJoãoCabraldeMelo Neto'sAgrestes SARA BRANDELLERO JoãoCabral'sgroupofpoemsentitled Agrestes waspublished in1985,and can be read as thepoet's reflections on his lifeand his anxietiesabout death.Perhaps morethananyofhisearlier volumes, Agrestes demonstrates thepoet'smorepersonal andintimate engagement with thetheme ofdeath, whichseemsto have had a strongbearingon themannerin whichhe revisited someofhismostfavoured themes, particularly hisreflections on his own writing and his concernswithsocial inequities, especiallyin relation tohisnative North-east. Thetitle itself provides a starting pointin theanalysisofthetreatment givento thethemes oflifeand mortality in thisgroup. Critics suchas Félixde Athayde havegenerally takenAgrestes toderive from theadjectiveagresteand to signify rudeand aspero} Withthisin mind, they haveheldtheterm toexpress Cabral'sdesire towrite 'unpoetic' verseand an additionalproofofhiswishnotto be includedin whathe defined as the'clubedos líricos'.2 However,I wouldarguethatCabral's choiceofthewordstemsfromhisown experience oftheNorth-east of Braziland anticipates thesenseofindeterminacy thatseemsto shapethe group. Indeed,theagreste istheregion between thefertile landsofthezona da mataandthearidexpansesofthesertão.Itis,infact, a semi-arid region, an 'in-between' land,through whichhe seemsto capturetheessenceof existence as a stateoflimbo,inprecarious balancebetween lifeanddeath. Theimageitencapsulates willguidethisreading ofthegroupofpoems. Cabralacknowledged totheBrazilian journalist NormaCourihisdeep understanding ofthecomplexreality oftheNorth-east inone ofhislast interviews: Meu engajamentoé com a realidade.Sou pernambucanoe não posso deixarde ser.O nordestino é maistelúricoque o carioca ou o paulista.Meu mundoé outro,fuicriado numengenho,minhafamíliaé de senhoresde engenho,a classe da Casa Grande,da zona da mata,longeda misériado sertão,mas conheço bem os dois lados. Meu pai 1Félixde Athayde,A Viagemou ItinerárioIntelectualque Fez João Cabral de Melo Neto do Racionalismoao MaterialismoDialético (Rio de ïaneiro:Nova Fronteira. 2000Ì. d. 102.. 2 Cabral employedtheexpressionin hisacceptancespeechfortheNeustadtPrize,awarded by theUniversity ofOklahoma in 1992.SeeJoão Cabral de Melo Neto,'Agradecimento pelo Premio Neustadt',inObra Completa(Rio deJaneiro:Nova Aguilar,1994),p. 800. 2l6 SARA BRANDELLERO comprou umacasa emCarpinha, nosAngicos [. . .] que ficava bemna divisãoentre umazonaeoutra.3 The theme ofthe'in-between' spacewhichCabralexploresinAgrestes operates onthree levels.First, inhisdefinition ofhisownwriting, which he saw as standingat the marginsof Brazilianliterary tradition, in an imaginary spacebetween poetry andprose.Secondly, on a sociallevel,the agreste encapsulates a spaceinhabited bythoseexcludedandmarginalized by society.In thismarginalspace, Cabral recognizes and exploresthe subversive powerofthevoicesoftheoppressed, whichhe presents as a challengeto thedominantorder.Thirdly, theagresteis an in-between space wherehe pitcheshis dialoguewithliterary traditionas a postcolonialwriter . Inthisstudy ofthetheme oftheentre-lugar, particular attention willbe givento Cabral'sdialoguewiththepoetry ofFernando Pessoaand ofhis Brazilian master, ManuelBandeira.Suchdialogueseemstoprovide a clear illustration ofhispositionas a post-colonial writer. However,thisstudy by no meanspurports to offer an exhaustiveappreciation of Cabral's dialoguewithliterary tradition in Agrestes, undoubtedly a prominent feature ofthecollection. Forexample, ofthesixsections inwhichAgrestes is divided,the third,entitled'LinguagensAlheias', is almost entirely devotedto the author's readingsof otherwriters.The collectionis structured as a sequenceofsixsections inwhichAgrestes roughly follows Cabral's own itinerary as a diplomat.The firstsectionfocuseson Pernambuco (Cabral'snativeland),followedbya sectionon Seville.The fourth section comprises poemsonWestAfrica, whilethelandscapeofthe Andesisthetheme ofthefifth section. Inthesixthandfinal section Cabral explores hisanxieties inrelation todeathona moreacutely personallevel. The intimate toneofthesection indicates a shift from thesocialdimension conferred tothetheme ofdeathintheothersections, andindeedinmany ofCabral's previousworks,suchas in Mortee Vida Severina(1955).A reasonforthisshift toa morepersonal moodistobefoundinthefactthat João Cabral's writing ofAgrestes, from1981to 1985,coincidedwitha periodfraught withpersonaltragedy. Indeed,itwas during thattimethat Cabral'sfirst wife, Stella,wasdiagnosed as suffering from cancer, ofwhich sheeventually diedin1986. In an articlewritten in 1971, the BraziliancriticSilvianoSantiago analysed therelation between thediscourse ofLatinAmerican writers and thecultural production offormer colonialpowersand theeconomically dominantcountries of theWest.Santiagoquestionedthecategoriesof 'source'and'influence' andformulated thetheory oftheentre-lugar, which hedefined inthefollowing terms: 3 Norma Couri,'Poesia Precisade ProvocarEmoção', Jornalde Letras^z6 January 2000,p. 9. THE 'ENTRE-LUGAR' IN JOÃO CABRAL^ AGRESTES 217 Entreo sacrifício e o jogo,entrea prisãoe a transgressão, entrea submissãoao código e a agressão,entrea obediênciae a rebelião,entrea assimilaçãoe a expressão,- ali, nesse lugar aparentemente vazio, seu tempo e seu lugar de clandestinidade,ali, se realizao ritualantropófago da literatura latino-americana.4 Itisinthisentre-lugar thatCabralsituates hisresponse toBandeiraand to Pessoa. With regardto the latter,Cabral centredhis dialogue on Mensagem, whichhe appearedto havereadprimarily as a celebration of Portugal'scolonial endeavours.It is important to note that Cabral preferred thiscollection ofpoetry to therestofPessoa'swork.In fact,in hisinterview withNormaCouri,Cabralstated: 'Do Fernando Pessoagosto da Mensagem, o resto é muitosubjetivo parao meugosto'.5 The epigraphthatopens the collectionintroduces the imageof the agreste...