Marginal Literature: The Genealogy of a Resistance Writing

Abstract

This study proposes a genealogy for the phenomenon of “marginal literature”, which emerges in the Brazilian literary system in the beginning of the 21st century from the agency of Ferréz, giving rise to a fundamental clash in the contemporary cultural scene, through their author`s claim for recognition as cultural producers. Based on the concept by Stuart Hall (2006), which sees in the game of cultural relations “the class struggle in culture”, a lineage composed of authors historically identified with the margin represented in their texts is proposed. It is understood that Euclides da Cunha was the first national author to propose, a century before, a writing that became an instrument of denunciation of oppression for the marginalized segments of the time, the sertanejos. Lima Barreto, Plínio Marcos e João Antônio offer throughout the 20th century a radical change of perspective in this literary series, starting to enunciate resistance from the very space in which they lived.