The east’s versification through Cecíclia Meireles’ chants: a brief immersion in Poems written in India

Abstract

This article aims to perform an ethnographic reading of two poems entitled, “Multidão” and “Pobreza”, present in the book Poems written in India (1961) belonging to the Brazilian poet Cecília Meireles. When considering the importance of understanding, looking at and giving a voice to the other in the contexts
in which egocentrism prevails, the ethnographic endeavor assumes itself as an unavoidable possibility. Indeed, the writing of displacement in poetic structure offers different versions and possibilities for understanding the foreign universe, since the literary language is plurisignificant. On this aspect, different characters from Indian culture are transfigured into poems that suggest an ethnographic concern to write and demonstrate the other. Regarding the theoretical foundation on ethnography, the studies of Susan Sontag (1987) and James Clifford (2002) were used. With regard to the transversal dimension of poetry, the thoughts of Octavio Paz (1946; 1976) and Alfredo Bosi (2006) were also considered. Finally, this article also intends to recognize the importance of Cecília Meireles in the universal literary panorama, because through the reading of her travel writings, it is noticeable that her poetic voice echoes the trajectory of human consciousness.