An author among authors: evidence of João Antônio’s search for literary precursors based on correspondence with Jácomo Mandatto

Abstract

Author of books that deal with the lack of life prospects in the outskirts of large cities, Brazilian writer João Antônio’s work is marked by social denunciation and memory as a vector of resistance. This text seeks to reflect on the literary affiliations established by João Antônio, understood as a political project of a writer who sought, in some way, to control what view posterity would have of him. Considering that all sections of the writer’s collection give us clues to both personal and social memorialistic construction, we will analyze part of his correspondence, seeking to show how the creation of literary precursors contributed to the affirmation of a model of author, for whom marginality is a core value.