An exhibition celebrating the famous livros do cordel, the printed folk literature of northeastern Brazil (Pictured above, Jose Soares Com Jose Costa Leita, from the collection of Stefan Bartkowiak.)

In the SFCB Gallery
May 9 - Aug 1, 2008     

Works from the exhibition

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< Previous | Catalogue | Next > José Soares (poeta reporter), A Corrução de Hoje em Dia (Everyday Corruption) From the collection of Alastair Johnston. Single sheet of newsprint folded into quarto, tipped into yellow wrapper. Back cover has a call for artists and writers, and the statement that prices are ßexible (i.e. pay what you can), and all the proceeds go to the Casa. Only God can stop the licentiousness that goes on all around us, he says, in this tale of a guy who doesn’t have a girlfriend. He also doesn’t work and gets clothes on credit to impress the girls. Then there are painted women hanging around the carnival, or the woman who marries an old guy for his money and carries on while he’s at work. The poem ends with a charming six-line envoi: Para escrever o livrinho gastei mais de uma hora quem achou bom o livrinho pague antes de ir embora e quem achou que não presta pague rasgue e jogue fora (To write this little book took more than an hour who thinks well of it pay before you go and who thinks otherwise, pay anyway, then rip it up, and go away) José Soares (poet-reporter) of Recife, was born in Pernambuco and lived from 1910—82. He was called the poet-reporter because of his important writings on the subject of the cordel. According to Candace Slater (Stories on a String, see bibliography): "Treasurer of the Olinda Poets’ Association, he has two printmaker sons who design the covers of his folhetos. Besides folhetos he sells second-hand magazines, and samba lyrics which he transcribes from phonograph records."

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