An Interview with Edimilson de Almeida Pereira

Abstract

Edimilson de Almeida Pereira was born in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil in 1963. He has published eight books of poetry, including a volume of collected poems Corpo vivido [Lived Body] (1991) as well as the more recent Rebojo [Whirlpool] and 0 homem da orelha furada [The Man with the Pierced Ear], both of which appeared in 1995. Much of this work reflects the author's African heritage, especially in Kianda, a series of poems on the general theme of the Angolan goddess of the sea, and Livro de falas [Book of Voices], a collection of dialogues with the myths that form the basis of the Afro-Brazilian religion known as Candomble. The poems thatfollow are allfrom thefirst section of Livro de falas. Each of the poems begins with an epigraph from a study by Monique Augras entitled 0 duplo e a metamorfose: a identidade mitica em comunidades Nag6 [The Double and Metamorphosis: Mythic Identity in Nag6 Communities] as an introduction to the different orishas on whom the poems focus. Although the interview thatfollows was conducted by mail in October 1995, in many ways it recreates the conversation I had with the poet while we worked together intensively in Juiz de Fora in June 1994 on my translation of Livro de falas in its entirety. In the interview, he speaks about the links in this book between traditional and modern Afro-Brazilian culture. He also addresses some of the many difficultiesfacing black poets in Brazil, including thefact that often must function as sociologists, anthropologists, and historians-roles that come from the urgent need to present (from a black perspective) the history of blacks in Brazil. This explains why Edimilson deAlmeida Pereira, along with co-author Nubia Pereira de Magalhaes Gomes, established the Minas & Mineiros Project. Together, they published half a dozen prizewinning interdisciplinary studies on popular culture and the Bantu traditions that exist in remote rural areas in the interior of the state of Minas Gerais. Edimilson de Almeida Pereira currently teaches Portuguese and Brazilian literature at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora.