Recife: Three Poets of Memory

Definition

This entry takes a key metropolis in northeastern Brazil as its focus. The authors use the work of three of Recife’s most important poets to analyse and think through this tropical city. In analysing the work of Manoel Bandiera, Joaquim Cardozo and Carlos Pena-Filho they celebrate Recife’s history and critique the intentional neglect of the built environment and the legacy of disastrous urban planning.

Recife is one of the most important cities in Northeast Brazil, founded by the Portuguese in 1534, 34 years after their arrival to the South American coast. The city was captured by the Dutch in 1630, who held power for 24 years and built Latin America’s first bridge Maurício de Nassau in 1643 – a constant source of inspiration for Recife’s artists. The promise of protection from religious persecution led Dutch Sephardic Jews to flee Europe for the colony, where they established the continent’s first synagogue in 1636, before many fled again to New York after the Portuguese...