Poetry
Poemas
Not translated into English
Viriato da Cruz · 1961
Synopsis
A handful of poems, six according to one study, in Portuguese shot through with Kimbundu and the Creole speech of Luanda. “Mamã negra (canto de esperança)” invokes Mother Africa and Black identity; “Namoro”, “Makèzú”, “Sô Santo”, “Serão de menino” or “Rimance da menina da roça” look in African values, between hope and nostalgia, for the symbols of a lost civilisation for a people in search of itself.
Context
The collection appeared in Lisbon in 1961 from the Casa dos Estudantes do Império; it is its author's only book, and one study cites it under the title Colectânea de poemas, 1947-1950, in the Autores Ultramarinos series. Several of his poems have been set to music, by Fausto and by Rui Mingas; “Namoro”, sung by Sérgio Godinho, has entered Portuguese song. The work is included in the second volume of a major anthology of African poetry in Portuguese.
Who it is for
Verse in Portuguese, with terms from Angolan languages; no French or English translation.
Prizes and reception
The only book of a poet regarded as one of the most important of his time, and of great weight in the rise of Angolan literature.
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