A Mulher negra (re)existe: lírica que aquilomba esperanças em Conceição Evaristo

Abstract

The research object of this thesis is the lyric poetry of Conceição Evaristo (2017), collected in his book Poemas da recordação e outros movimentos. As a reading hypothesis of this thesis, we understand that the compositions point to the presence of a collective trauma resulting from racism. More specifically, by basing ourselves on the notion of trauma of Grada Kilomba (2019) and the concept of testimony of Márcio Seligman-Silva (2003, 2022), we affirm that in the historical panorama of contemporary Brazil, Evaristo’s black poetry is a testimony to the struggles and resistance of black women of African descent. Thus, when we approach racism through the bias of discourse, we investigate how racism and slavery (its causes and consequences) caused a collective trauma that reverberates to this day in Brazilian society. In this sense, we analyze how eroticism and autoerotism are worked by this poet to break with the still existing stereotypes linked to the image of black woman Afro-descendant, which implies the strengthening of this woman.