Poetry as a Weapon for Survival: Dictatorship, Resistance, and Testimony in the 'Poema-Prólogo' by Pedro Tierra

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to analyze the poetic representation of dictatorship, resistance and testimony in the poem “Poema-Prólogo”, from the work Poemas do povo da noite (1979), by Pedro Tierra. This is a bibliographical, descriptive and analytical research, proposing to contribute to social and academic knowledge, especially in the recent situation in the country, which has shown an increase in anti-democratic acts. To this end, studies by theorists who address the subject in question were used: Fico, Arns and Wright, Bosi, Salgueiro and Silva. Based on the analysis, it was found that the poet uses resistance to testify to repression in the context of the Brazilian Military Dictatorship (1964-1985), through verses written during the years he was in the “basements” of the State, from 1972 to 1977. The poem, due to the affinity between the identity of the poet and the lyrical self, provides information about the past that history alone is incapable of completing.