World literature and transnational solidarity
The letters from Françoise Ega to Carolina Maria de Jesus
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3570824 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Fernanda Dusse (0000-0001-7457-9981, Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-09 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Interventions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-801X • E-ISSN: 1469-929X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1369801x.2025.2544129 |
| OpenAlex | W4414087670 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
In 1960, Carolina Maria de Jesus published her diaries and was welcomed as one of the first Afro-Brazilian woman writers. Although the impact of the book in Brazilian literary history is unquestionable, it was taken as a narrative of the other – a woman from the slums whose reality was unfamiliar to the readers. More recently, groups of individuals who identified with the themes in Carolina's writings have shifted the perspective regarding the book's reception, highlighting the parallel history of African diaspora literature. In 1962, Françoise Ega, a Martinican immigrant, came across an article in a Paris Match magazine that featured Carolina, leading her to immediately establish a deep connection with the Brazilian writer. Although Ega never read a book by Carolina, for two years she wrote the letters posthumously published as Letters to a Black Woman, in which she draws up a sense of solidarity among Black women across the globe. While the letters never reached their intended recipient, they had a significant impact in the francophone world, contributing to Ega's recognition as an important activist and writer. Despite the success achieved by both books, no comparative works on the writers were undertaken until 2020, when Ega's letters were translated to Portuguese. This essay aims to compare their oeuvres and reflect on the concepts of national and world literature. Whilst the correspondence between Carolina and Ega points to the limitation of nation-based literary models, it affirms the possibility of solidarities across the global South and demonstrates the value for literary studies of translation and publication of marginalized writers
World history · World literature · Literature, Culture, and Criticism · Translation Studies and Practices
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |