GRANTA MAGAZINE, THE “BEST WRITERS”, AND THE DEBATE CONCERNING THE LITERARY VALUE

Abstract

This study takes the 2012 publication of "The Best of Young Brazilian Novelists" by the prestigious Granta magazine as its point of departure for a discussion concerning literary value and its ramifications within the practice of literary criticism and theory. It is observed that the selection featured in the British publication aims to internationalize Brazilian literature by favoring texts and authors that offer a purportedly more "universal" perspective on the themes depicted. By conducting a historical analysis of debates surrounding aesthetic quality, tracing their trajectory from Aristotelian origins through the study of Aesthetics and Russian Formalism’s concept of literariness, and subsequently addressing the literary canon, we highlight the historicity and ideological underpinnings of concepts posited as universal. Furthermore, we argue that Granta’s list merely perpetuates this inherently Eurocentric assessment. Therefore, the discussion addresses the choices made by the publication and how they attempt to delineate the boundaries of literary value through a subjective gaze that masquerades as objective – legitimized by the concept of "aesthetic quality." The study concludes that Granta prioritizes white writers, predominantly male and from the upper classes, who cultivate a literature characterized by urban and confessional themes, with many possessing a background of migration. Consequently, the selection fails to encompass the ethnic diversity and social representations inherent in contemporary Brazilian literature, nor does it address issues of social and economic inequality, agrarian conflicts, or the imbalances of urban growth that result in peripheralization and urban violence.