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The Position of the Body in the Poetry of Isabel de Sá

2009; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 2; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.7275/r5862dcr

1530-0358

Catharien Hamerslag,

Cultural, Media, and Literary Studies

Taking into consideration some of the comments made across the years concerning the poetry of Isabel de Sa, a critical review by Eduardo Pitta asks for renewed attention: “Fazendo nossas as palavras de Fernando Guimaraes, podemos incluir I. de Sa naquele nucleo de autores que propiciam o entendimento de ‘algumas das novas direccoes da nossa poesia actual’”. Eduardo Pitta’s citation of Guimaraes’ remark in his review (Pitta 1989) of Escrevo para Desistir (1988) raises the question of what new direction Isabel de Sa was leading contemporary Portuguese poetry intoto. And whether this remark now, more than two decennia later, still holds value. Although it is not the aim of this essay to evaluate the effect of Isabel de Sa’s poetry, written during the past 28 years, on Portuguese poetry as a whole, I would like to examine the possible value of the quoted remark today. In order to do so, I will concentrate on the poems of Isabel de Sa that were published in O Brilho da Lama (1999). A work that has recently been collected, together with Isabel de Sa’s former poetry since 1979, in Repetir o Poema (2005). In order to justify the relevance of the subject of this article, I will first indicate the actual position of her poetry in relation to contemporary Portuguese poetry. Secondly, I will point out which problem de Sa’s poetry confronts, in my opinion, in the context of the problem of representation. As I will argue, the visibility of the subject of her poetry forms the main challenge de Sa confronts. This will bring me to the main subject of the article: the struggle for representation. In this light I will demonstrate this struggle in Isabel de Sa’s poetry and consequently show the innovative character of the poems analyzed.