Brazil, Lyric, and the Americas (review)

Expanding on his own work on modern and contemporary poetry and music (Seven Faces: Brazilian Poetry Since Modernism [1996] and Brazilian Music and Globalization [2001]) and the comparative models of others such as Earl E. Fitz (Rediscovering the New World: Inter-American Literature in a Comparative Context [1991]), in this new book, Charles Perrone draws an exciting and complex map of lyric production in Brazil that is informed by what he calls a "utopian hemispheric solidarity" (ix). This broad, heterogeneous portrayal or, more precisely, "journey" spanning various periods and geographies of Brazilian lyric is a solid contribution to the emerging fields of inter-American literature, New World Studies, and transamerican poetics. It clearly displays the ways in which a national lyric not only has entered, but effectively can be brought, into productive continental dialogue beyond the usual questions of influence and the traditional methods of comparative literature. This ambitious project also confronts head-on the predicament of the Brazilianist desiring projection of his or her field and research beyond the traditional disciplinary/geographical divide of Brazilian (or even Latin American) Studies.

The author seeks to deconstruct or at least undo the traditional perception of Brazilian insularity, a notion that has both inspired poetic celebrations of Brazil as a "marvelous island" as well as kept much of its lyric production locked within its linguistic and geographical borders. Brazil's proverbial real or perceived insular character, this study shows, has prompted a number of responses on the part of poets in Brazil, some of which involve considerable outreach in the form of collaboration, translation, intellectual exchange, and dialogue with the poetic and cultural traditions of other American nations. Brazilian lyric, hence, is not seen as an isolated phenomenon, but as engaging in a lively multilingual conversation with its neighbors in the Americas (North and South). Analyzing this response, Perrone focuses on the imperative of "invention," characteristic of a New World ethos, as another one of his intellectual guiding principles.

Methodologically, a study of this nature presents several challenges not the least of which is the definition and investment in the terms of inquiry reflected in the title: "Brazil," "lyric," and "the Americas." As mentioned, "Brazil" does not only denote that national/geographical entity—its status as a singular Portuguese-speaking island in the Americas is explored both historically and conceptually. The plurality of "Americas" reflects "overriding concerns with this nomenclature and interconnectedness between genres, languages, and nations" (xiv). Finally, "lyric" is understood broadly—both as genre and poetic composition, including conventional verse, material or visual poetry, and song.

Another hurdle concerns the corpus and the organization of content. While the focus of the study is overwhelmingly (though not exclusively) modern and contemporary, the texts and authors chosen are not intended to represent the entire landscape of current Brazilian lyric production, but rather that which has deliberately engaged in such continental exchanges. The material is thematically organized, rather than in traditional chronological order. In this way, not only transamerican but also transgenerational affinities can be perceived.

An introductory chapter lays down the theoretical groundwork by generally analyzing "transamerican currents in Brazilian lyric" as well as probing the manifold meanings of "America." In this discussion, Perrone coins the witty neologism "USAmerican" to draw a distinction from a more general continental sense. Chapters 2 and 3 explore Brazilian lyric's interaction with USAmerican literature and popular culture, respectively. Literary interaction involves not only exchanges, anthologies, translations, allusions and dedications, but also the use of English in much contemporary lyric in Brazil, which can be seen as ranging from a sign of mental colonization, to a search for cultural prestige, to an ironic postcolonial rejoinder. The impact of US popular culture is gauged through the allusions to jazz, film, and media in the poetic imagination of Brazilian authors.

Chapter 4, one of the most accomplished sections of the book, provides an in-depth reading of three important neo-epic poems from the late Romantic, modernist, and contemporary periods: Joaquim de Sousândrade's O Guesa Errante...