The writer and linguist Conceição Evaristo is a reference in Brazilian literature for his work on the concept of scribe and for works such as Ponciá Vicêncio, Becos da Memória and Olhos d’Água. In an interview with Metropoles, she explained the importance of the term in her literary production and how it relates to so-called Afro-Brazilian literature.
Conceição recently participated in Caixa Cultural’s Semper Um Papo project, addressing central themes in contemporary literature, particularly in the Afro-Brazilian field. According to the author, Afro-Brazilian literature goes beyond writing in the first person. Even when there is no directly identified narrator, the texts come from a perspective marked by the black experience in Brazil.
“What we call Afro-Brazilian literature is a text that is born from this perspective, from this historical and ancestral experience of African people born in Brazil,” he said.
In 2025, Conceição will publish Writings: Identity, Gender and Violence (Ed. Malê), a work in which she delves deeper into the concept which has become the central axis of her literary creation.
“Thinking about writing is thinking about the history and ancestry that allows us to tell our experience, to tell our story,” he said.
Debate on representation
The debate over representation in the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL) has intensified in recent years. A black woman and one of the greatest voices in national literature, Conceição energized this debate by applying to the ABL in 2018.
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The writer Conceição Evaristo, a reference in contemporary Brazilian literature
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The writer Conceição Evaristo, a reference in contemporary Brazilian literature
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Although she was not elected, she continued to blaze a trail: she became the first black woman to hold a seat at the Academia Mineira de Letras. Soon after, ABL welcomed its first black member, writer Ana Maria Gonçalves.
“The houses that represent literary discourse must reflect the diversity of the country. It is essential that those who produce these discourses are present in these spaces,” reflected Conceição.
She emphasizes that this enlargement must also include the representatives of the original peoples:
“The broader this representation, the greater the possibilities for these institutions to truly reflect the diversity of Brazilian literature. »
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