Testimony on lyrical poetry: inflexions and reflections from a poem by Thiago de Mello

Abstract

This article discusses, in general terms, tensions, dilemmas and peculiarities of testimony in lyric poetry. Although poetry still occupies a marginal position in the investigations of testimony in brazilian literature, our poetic repertoire has an abundant and decisive presence of witness elements, such as trauma’s writing, the strength and troubled approchement between reality and memory , ethic and aesthetic. Based on development of these considerations, we propose a brief analysis of the poem “Iniciação do prisioneiro,” by Thiago de Mello, explaining how this poem, about the period wich he was imprisoned, can be understood from the testimony’s concept.