Giulia Spinuzza
East Timorese Literary Narratives (Twenty-First Century): Indian Ocean Crossings and Littoral Encounters
Abstract:
The aim of East Timorese Literary Narratives (Twenty-First Century): Indian Ocean Crossings and Littoral Encounters is to analyze the book Requiem para o Navegador Solitário (2007) [Requiem for the Lonely Sailor] by Luís Cardoso considering the maritime elements that emerge in the novel and combining Indian Ocean Studies with Gender Studies. Pointing to the Timorese imaginary and the female protagonist’s perspective, we will focus on the elements related to the island’s coast, such as the shore, the sea, ships, sailors, and the interconnection with other islands and territories during the colonial period. In fact, we believe that these elements integrate not only the geographical space of the narrative, but also the literary imaginary, as is the case, for example, of the metaphorical resources and the construction of the main character, Catarina. Considering that East Timor is located at the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean and taking into account the theoretical theory of Indian Ocean Studics, we intend to demonstrate that in this novel the ocean constitutes a visual and metaphorical transcontinental repertoire that relates to the Timorese cultural imaginary itself. We will analyze the connection between the existential trajectory of Catarina, the novel’s female protagonist, the history of East Timor and the Indian Ocean crossings. This text, written in Portuguese by a Timorese author, portrays the complex history of this territory during World War II and offers a unique perspective on Timorese history.
Quotation:
Spinuzza, G. (2021). East Timorese Literary Narratives (Twenty-First Century): Indian Ocean Crossings and Littoral Encounters. Portuguese Studies 37(2), 242-255. doi:10.1353/port.2021.0017.
A poesia de Glória de Sant’anna: um roteiro de leitura dos primeiros livros
Abstract:
Through in-depth analysis of thematic aspects of the work of Glória de Sant’Anna, a poet of Portuguese origin who lived for over two decades in Mozambique, we will analyze in A poesia de Glória de Sant’Anna: um roteiro de leitura dos primeiros livros the poetic imaginary based on natural elements, especially aquatic, which are resumed by the generation of post-independence poets. Through the articulation of thematic elements identifiable with water, we intend to contribute to the definition of a thematic core built around the imaginary of the Indian Ocean, which has been asserting itself since the colonial period and which constitutes one of the key thematic cores for understanding Mozambican poetry. In this essay, we intend to demonstrate that in the most intimate texts, the poet metaphorically reworks the oceanic imaginary, turning it into a universal space of identification between the lyric self and the vastness of the Indian Ocean horizon. This work is financed by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the NILUS-Narratives of the Indian Ocean in the Lusophone Space Project (PTDC/CPC-ELT/4868/2014). This text reworks an essay that will be published in a collection of texts in tribute to Glória de Sant’Anna (in press) and is the result of the research of the PhD thesis defended in 2017.
Quotation:
“Spinuzza, Giulia. A poesia de Glória de Sant’Anna: um roteiro de leitura dos primeiros livros. Mulemba, UFRJ, Brasil, vol. 11, n. 21, Dezembro 2019, p. 136 https://revistas.ufrj.br/index.php/mulemba/issue/view/1302/showToc”
