Echoes of René Maran in the brazilian intelligentsia (1921-1955)

contacts, reception and translation

Abstract

René Maran was the first black man of letters to achieve success in the French language. His fame and works echoed in Brazil at the beginning of the 20th century, but were later forgotten. Considering this fact, the present paper intends to show how the repercussion of the black writer took place in Brazil, as well as highlight his legacy. This way, we present René Maran’s relationship with the country’s intelligentsia, how the reception of the work Batouala (1921) occurred, and how the author’s first Portuguese translation – Djumá, cão sem sorte (1934) – was received. This paper aims, therefore, to evoke how a democratic literary francophony can be a more ethical path.