SENSITIVITY IN THE MEMORY OF BLACK POETS FROM SANTA CATARINA: LITERATURE AS A PLACE OF RESISTANCE

Abstract

Brazilian black literature faced several obstacles in order for its works to be recognized as artistic production of intellectual value, especially in the case of female writers. Following anti-racist and feminist movements, black literature, since its earliest works, has used words as an act of resistance against racism, echoing those voices silenced in the process of domination of peoples of African origin. This research is the result of an analysis of two works by contemporary black poets from Santa Catarina: Iratan Curvello with "Olhar negro" (Black Gaze) and Edenice Fraga with "Traços de Antonieta" (Traces of Antonieta). Both embrace their race and color and use their poetry to reference other black writers who were activists in the abolitionist cause and the fight against racial prejudice. The poems contain elements that refer to African oral tradition, denounce the wounds inherited from slavery, and portray black women as warriors demanding visibility and rights, as well as resilient women supported by faith. Mapping the intrinsic words of these writers opens up a discussion about the place of speech of subalternized groups generated in the historical process of colonialism and how black literature emerges as a political act, bringing the sensibilities of black perspectives to the fore.