A literatura na Paraíba: ontem e hoje

Abstract

The publication now published by the Fundação Casa de José Américo, under the title LITERATURE IN PARAÍBA YESTERDAY AND TODAY, has the immediate objective of documenting the course Introduction to Paraíba Literature, which has been held for some time now, so that the studies and debates carried out at the time can be preserved and, at the same time, allow access to them to a greater number of people than those who had the opportunity to participate directly in the event. The course, organized by the group that prepares the LITERARY DICTIONARY OF PARAÍBA, and whose intention is to systematically record, as exhaustively as possible, the literary manifestations produced in our environment, or by authors born here, had in turn the aim of promoting an assessment of these manifestations at certain moments in our existence, past or present. It is not appropriate, in the space of a brief and dispensable presentation such as this one, to discuss the concept of literature, nor to examine the factors and circumstances that can make it emerge, or delay it, or even serve as an impediment to it - as well as to artistic creation in general. In any case, it seems undeniable that there is a literary production carried out in Paraíba, or by people from Paraíba, which, if it does not place us in a privileged position, certainly does not leave us inferior in comparison with other Brazilian regions and states. If it is possible to mention, among us, names already consecrated in Brazilian literature, such as Augusto dos Anjos, José Américo de Almeida, José Lins do Rego and Ariano Suassuna, others should be discovered and studied, as the course mentioned above did with respect to Francisco Monteiro da Franca and Carlos Dias Fernandes. And as is appropriate to proceed with other authors, of greater or lesser importance, whether in the field of literature or other arts, in an attempt to better understand our past. The course Paraíba Literature Yesterday and Today, in addition to focusing on the names already mentioned and their works, also evaluated activities such as Chronicles and Journalism, Paraíba Theater Today, Generation 59, Sanhauá Group, and Current Writers and Poets. It is worth noting that these debates highlighted the need to encourage literary and artistic creation, so that these activities can develop more regularly and with greater scope - a contribution, in fact, that the José Américo House Foundation has, in its own way and within its limitations, sought to offer to the Paraíba community, as one of the most appropriate ways to pay tribute to its patron.