Memórias de Erico Veríssimo: primeiras leituras ao Solo de Clarineta (1912-1922)

Abstract

This research is the result of a historical study and search for clues that can contribute to the understanding of early reading experiences of the writer Erico Veríssimo, as a child in the city of Cruz Alta, In the countyside of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), during the first decades of the twentieth century, between the years 1912 to 1922. This period is justified for 1912 being the year in which the boy Érico was enrolled at the city school and continued studying until 1922, when he left the school Colégio Cruzeiro do Sul, in Porto Alegre, without finishing the course. Examining the autobiographical work Solo of Clarinet, divided in two volumes and published in 1975 and 1976, we find the writer's stories about memories of his experience with books at school Colégio Elementar Venâncio Aires and the private joint class of Mrs. Margarida Pardelhas, in addition to those belonging to his father's office, which provide elements that allow us to understand the training of young readers in Brazil at the marked time. At first, we emphasize the memory reports as a possible field of study for the History of Education, with contributions of the work of John Kotre and the reflections of Veríssimo himself about the reliability of such memories. We point out, continuing the study, the role of family and school reading mediators ans the different possibilities that the reading provides to the reader. Furthermore, the reading was conceived as means of pleasure and endurance. This research was made possible by Knowledge derived from history of reading and history of education