Hortografismo: negritude, espiritualidade e morte em Auta de Souza

Abstract

The present work proposes a historical and social view on the life and work of the poet north rio grandense Auta de Souza (1876-1901). It seeks new insights into her critical fortune and the discussions surrounding the Afro-descendant poet and her rise as a professional writer in the nineteenth century. The research is justified by the necessity of insertion of the poetry of Rio Grande do Norte in the academic and literary circles in the attempt of a revision of the canon with regard to the poets who remain on the sidelines. In order to walk the way of construction of the research, bibliographical sources were used that arose at the time when she was still alive and those that are made today. It was tried to show the excellence of her unique book Horto, published with the endorsement of Olavo Bilac. It is intended to bring some lights on the eighteenthcentury poet identified with a poetry spiritual and melancholy. For that, the studies of the theorists Frantz Fanon and Edouard Glissant were important for the knowledge of the racial and whitening issues that involve the poet. On the other hand, the theory of Maurice Blanchot and his studies on death brought a better understanding of death in its several aspects, the main theme of Horto's poetry.