The history of Eduardo Perié

Considerations and approaches about Brazilian Literature in the 19th century

Abstract

In 1885, Eduardo Perié published, through Buenos Aires-based company Casa Editora Eduardo Perié, the book Brazilian Literature in Colonial Times - from 16th to 19th Century, subtitled “Historical draft followed by bibliography and excerpts from poets and prose writers from this period, who founded the culture of Portuguese language in Brazil”, as the first volume in the collection “Luso-Brazilian Library”. According to the author, this work is the result of his observations in the country and was written following a request by his friend Félix Ferreira, who not only proposed the project initially, but helped gathering the necessary materials for its realization, writing notes and some parts of the book. According to the historian, there are three factors that establish literature in Brazil: Portuguese literature, rich in perfection, style and harmony; legends and indian poetry; and the african element. Following this perspective, he focuses on literature produced in Brazil, since colonial times until present days, broadening the commitment to analyse only colonial literature. This is a little known work in Brazil, rarely cited among Brazilian History scholars. The author is also unknown in the field of historiography, deserving, therefore, further explorations of his original and peculiar view on Brazilian literature, especially considering the moment the country was going through: when Perié published his four hundred-page study, the Brazilian Republic was about to be established four years later. Matters of political and literary nature seem to dialogue here, and need to be further investigated to define the place this History of Brazilian Literature occupies in colonial times (not that colonial anymore).