Publishing on Brazil's Margins: Cordel Literature, 1970s-'80s
Publishing on Brazil's Margins: Cordel Literature, 1970s-'80s
This zine reproduces some of the covers in a substantial collection of Brazilian cordel literature from the period of the military dictatorship and shortly thereafter—self-publishing from Brazil’s margins, documenting politics, religion and folklore, and even an early treatment of AIDS in Brazil during a period of extreme censorship and repression. This collection gathers marginal printed ephemera from a period of enormous political repression: killings, and disappearances perpetrated by the state; torture; censorship; and widespread human rights abuse—it is thus a remarkable record of popular culture during the dictatorship and in the years after. These chapbooks or folhetos are a remarkable example of proletarian literature in the Global South and are now being recognized as an important part of Brazilian folk and popular culture. The titles in this collection include a guide to Esperanto; tales of crime, passion, and romance; and an early treatment of AIDS, blaming tourists, loose women, and homosexuals for its spread in Brazil. Produced throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, these are records of DIY proletarian literature from the Global South during a period of incredible censorship and oppression. (Fugitive Materials)