Did you know that poetry has a special place in the Brazilian calendar? That's right! In Brazil, we dedicate a day to celebrate national poetry. Until mid-2015, the date was celebrated on March 14th, a tribute to one of our greatest poets, Antônio Frederico de Castro Alves, born in the city of Curralinho, on that date, in the year of 1847. However, this celebration was not official. There was a bill of law to make the commemoration official on March 14, but the bill was shelved. President Dilma then, on June 3, 2015, sanctioned the Law 13.131/2015, who officially created the National Day of Poetry. This Bill, suggested by senator Álvaro Dias, had a proposal accepted for the National Day of Poetry to be commemorated in the October 31st, birth of the poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade.
Drummond, born in Minas Gerais, in 1902, is one of the greatest Brazilian poets, being internationally recognized. In Belo Horizonte, he studied, worked as a civil servant and began his career as a writer. journal founder
The magazine, official organ of Minas Gerais modernism, was the highlight of this literary movement. In 1930, he published his first work, some poetry, when modernism was already consolidated in Brazilian lands. With poems that address issues of our daily lives (family and friends, social conflicts, existence human etc.) and a writing with touches of irony and pessimism, Drummond is a landmark in literature Brazilian.In 1987, unfortunately, in Rio de Janeiro, the author died, twelve days after the death of his only child, Maria Julieta Drummond de Andrade, the author's greatest love.
Check out what Drummond left us and understand why the author is honored and has the day of his birth marked on the Brazilian calendar as the National Day of Poetry.
Featured Works
“Nova Reunion” series, by Best Seller Publisher
Cover of Some Poetry, by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Instituto Moreira Salles Collection, 1920
Some poems by Drummond
Midway
In the middle of the way there was a stone
there was a stone in the middle of the way
had a stone
in the middle of the way there was a stone.
I will never forget this event
in the life of my so tired retinas.
I'll never forget that halfway
had a stone
there was a stone in the middle of the way
in the middle of the way there was a stone.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
Joseph
And now Jose?
The party is over,
the light went out,
the people disappeared,
the night got cold,
and now Jose?
and now you?
You who are nameless,
who mocks others,
You who make verses,
who loves, protests?
and now Jose?
is without a woman,
is without speech,
is without affection,
can't drink anymore,
can no longer smoke,
can no longer spit,
the night got cold,
the day did not come,
the tram didn't come,
the laugh did not come,
utopia did not come
and it's all over
and everything ran away
and everything molded,
and now Jose?
And now Jose?
your sweet word,
your instant of fever,
your gluttony and fasting,
your library,
your gold mine,
your glass suit,
your inconsistency,
your hate, - now what?
with the key in the hand
want to open the door,
there is no door;
want to die at sea,
but the sea dried up;
want to go to Minas,
Mine are no more.
Joseph, what now?
If you screamed,
if you moaned,
if you played,
the Viennese waltz,
if you slept,
if you got tired,
if you died...
But you don't die,
you are tough, Joseph!
Alone in the dark
which wild animal,
without theogony,
no bare wall
to lean on,
no black horse
flee the gallop,
you march, Joseph!
Joseph, where to?
New Year's Revenue
For you to win a beautiful New Year
color of the rainbow, or the color of your peace,
New Year without comparison with all the time already lived
(poorly lived or meaningless)
for you to earn a year
not just repainted, patched to careers,
but new in the seeds of becoming;
new
even in the heart of the least perceived things
(starting from the inside)
new, spontaneous, so perfect you don't even notice,
but with him you can eat, walk,
if you love, if you understand, if you work,
you don't need to drink champagne or any other booze,
no need to send or receive messages
(plant receives messages?
pass telegrams?)
It is not necessary
make good intentions list
to file them in the drawer.
No need to cry sorry
by the nonsense consumed
don't even foolishly believe
that by decree of hope
from january things change
and be all clarity, reward,
justice between men and nations,
freedom with the smell and taste of morning bread,
rights respected, starting
for the august right to live.
To win a New Year
that deserves this name,
you, my dear, have to deserve it,
you have to do it again, I know it's not easy,
but try, try, consciously.
It is within you that the New Year
naps and waits forever.
Freedom
the bird is free
in the air prison.
the spirit is free
in the prison of the body.
But free, really free,
it's really like being dead.
Poet's statements about life and literature
→ Carlos Drummond de Andrade in a documentary by Fernando Sabino and David Neves. 1972.
by Mariana Pacheco
Graduated in Letters
