O QUE É LITERATURA DE TESTEMUNHO (E CONSIDERAÇÕES EM TORNO DE GRACILIANO RAMOS, ALEX POLARI E ANDRÉ DU RAP)

• Main Author: Wilberth Salgueiro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro 2012-12-01
• Series: Matraga
• Subjects: Literatura de testemunho; Graciliano Ramos; Alex Polari; André du Rap.
• Online Access: http://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/index.php/matraga/article/view/22610

At first, this text’s intention is to bring to light some common considerations related to the aspects of witness and witnessing; based on the ideas of Giorgio Agamben (2008) on “witness” and of Paul Ricoeur (2007) on “witnessing”. Forthwith, the analysis points traits and characteristics that may help on identifying a text as “Witness Literature”, illustrating each of its traits. Finally, this work studies three prison testimony – Memórias do cárcere (1953) by Graciliano Ramos; Camarim de prisioneiro (1980) by Alex Polari; and Sobrevivente André du Rap (do Massacre do Carandiru) (2002) by André du Rap –, considering above all other things the conception of language and writing used in expression. As a conclusion, this article uses thoughts by Márcio Seligmann-Silva (2009) on Grande sertão: veredas, by Guimarães Rosa, concluding that both the witnessing and fiction crisscross establishing connections and ruptures; nevertheless, they do not disappear or even nullify each other, being a task for the reader to deal with this thin boundary.