Uneven roads, real talk: the centrality of favela literature

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article is about the paradigmatic Festa Literária das Periferias (FLUP) in Rio de Janeiro and its prolific production of new authors including own empiric material based on a multi-sited ethnography covering the nine years of the festival by suggesting the two leitmotifs “abraço coletivo” (collective hug) and “papo reto” (real talk). By doing this, we contemplate the role of cultural mediators and ask for the centrality of favela literature by presenting, analyzing and emphasizing its values. Thus we chose three novels (Só por hoje by Julio Ludemir 2012; Cidade de Deus Z by Julio Pecly 2015 and A número um by Raquel de Oliveira 2015) from or linked to FLUP for a philologic and cultural reading of their texts. Finally, we raise again the question about aesthetic values in relation to favela literature, which may open new paths to this research.

KEYWORDS: Literature. Favela. FLUP. Canon. Novel.