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Brazilian cordel literature collection
950072
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Title: Brazilian cordel literature collection
Date (inclusive): 1924-1990
Number: 950072
Physical Description:
4.5 Linear Feet
(10 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The Brazilian cordel literature
collection contains over 2000 pamphlets of popular literature known in Portuguese as literatura de cordel or "string literature."
Traditionally,
literatura de cordel is composed in verse and illustrated with woodcuts on the front cover,
and it derives its name from the way it is sold suspended by a string in Brazilian open-air
markets. The collection includes pamphlets published between 1924 and 1990 arranged into
four series by region of publication: Center-West, Northeast, Southeast, and Undetermined.
The collection inventory provides the title of each pamphlet in the collection.
Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials
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Language: Collection material is in Portuguese
Biographical / Historical Note
The Brazilian cordel literature collection contains over 2000 pamphlets of popular
literature known in Portuguese as
literatura de cordel ("string
literature"). It derives its name from the fashion in which it was sold to passersby in
Northeastern Brazil: suspended from a string in open-air markets. Migration trends to the
Southeastern states after 1950 led to an influx of poets and printers who expanded the reach
of the pamphlets beyond their traditional Northeastern audience. The cordel, as it is known,
is an important part of Brazil's rich literary and folkloric history. Its form, typically
composed in verse, originates from the ballad tradition of the Middle Ages and, much like
this tradition, its original purpose was to entertain, spread news, and impart moral
instruction to the populace through mass distribution. The cordel is similar to other
literary forms found throughout Europe, such as the English chapbook, the French littérature
de colportage, and the romanceiro from the Iberian peninsula.
The cordel continues to be a source of artistic and literary expression in Brazil. Although
this literary form declined at the end of the twentieth century as other modes of
entertainment ascended, authors from the Southeast such as Franklin Maxado Nordestino
revitalized the cordel by introducing new topics and accommodating urban audiences. The
cordel also exerts a significant amount of influence on Brazilian art, theater, music, and
literature. Brazilian authors such as Jorge Amado, Ariano Saussuna, and João Cabral de Melo
Neto have incorporated the celebrated literary form into their own work, and cordel stories
have even been adapted for television, as in Globo's
Cordel
encantado
and for the big screen, like Tânia Quaresma's 1975 film
Nordeste: cordel, repente, canção.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Contact
Library Reproductions and Permissions .
Brazilian cordel literature collection, 1924-1990, The Getty Research Institute, Los
Angeles, Accession no. 950072
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa950072
Acquired in 1990.
Rehoused upon receipt by the registrars. Processing and description by Ashley Larson in
2016 under the supervision of Kit Messick.
Cordel: xilogravura e ilustrações / Franklin Maxado, LC Call
number: Z521.4 .M33 1982.
Xilogravura popular na literatura de cordel / Jeová
Franklin, Call number: 2768-094.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of over 2000 cordels covering an array of subject matter, including
tales of love and adventure, religious prophecies and prayers, fables and legends, and
pelejas (poetic duels of verbal and musical acumen), in addition to daily news, horoscopes,
and local "fofocas de futebol" (soccer gossip). Poet-reporters capture and describe major
events in the history of Brazil and the world, such as the death of Tancredo Neves, popular
revolt in Vicencia, Papal visits, and even the death of Elvis Presley. Contents also include
political themes highlighting specific candidates, debates, popular demands, such as
Afro-Brazilian rights and agrarian reform. Within the collection, there are multiple
printings, editions, and variations of beloved stories. Researchers will find this
collection particularly useful for the history of print literature in Brazil; its influence
on other literary forms; its value as historical documentation; its value as a source of
popular folklore and political attitudes; and the artistic value of its woodblock engraving
and other illustrative forms.
The cordel pamphlets are generally four by six and a half inches, however deviation in
sizing occurs throughout the collection. Cordels are made of lightweight paper and can be 8,
16, 32, or 64 pages, with an occasional two- or four-page anomaly. Many of the troubadours
conclude their poems with a signature in verse, or an acrostic, starting each final line
with a letter from their first initial and last name. Most pamphlets feature an illustration
on the front cover, typically a woodcut engraving, although it is not uncommon to see a
reproduced photograph or a drawing. Often, the cover artwork is signed with the initials or
family name of the highlighted artist. The back cover typically features the author's
contact information, with or without a photograph, as well as advertisements from local
vendors, publishers or other companies, and legal notes pertaining to the purchase and sale
of the item.The collection is arranged into four series which provide the researcher access
based on geographical region of publication. Series I. Center-West is the smallest of the
four series, consisting of a handful of publications from 1978 to 1988. Series II. Northeast
is the largest of the series, with a date range of 1924 to 1990. Series III. Southeast
offers examples of the urban cordel movement, alongside traditional works, between the years
1975 and 1989. Series IV. Undetermined includes those pamphlets which could not be assigned
to a region. Titles are transcribed from the cover page. Multiple copies are noted when
present.
Arranged in four series:
Series I.
Center-West, 1978-1988;
Series II. Northeast,
1924-1990;
Series III. Southeast,
1975-1989;
Series IV. Undetermined,
1924-1990.
Chapbooks, Brazilian
Popular literature -- Brazil.
Wood-engraving, Brazilian
Folk literature, Brazilian
Brazilian poetry -- 20th century.
Folk poetry, Brazilian.
Chapbooks
Poems
Woodcuts
Santa Helena,
Raimundo
Machado, Franklin
de C.
Leite, José Costa
Cavalcante, Rodolfo Coelho,
1919-1986
Borges, J. (José),
1935-
Batista, Abraão
Athayde, João Martins
de
Soares, José,
1914-1981