De Stamps ao Recôncavo: encruzilhada de narrativas afrodescendentes traduzidas em literatura contemporânea

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the literary production of US author Maya Angelou (1928-2014) and Brazilian writer Mãe Beata de Yemonjá (1931-). By regarding the similarities and differences between these black women, this research postulates the possibility to translate into critical reading texts and contexts which culturally coincide and differ from each other, especially when their materiality is in the form of black literature. Although the ancestrality of both women has roots in Africa, the specificity of their reality requires consideration, which is why local cultural forms are compared with due regard to their own history. We study images, myths and traditions present in their narratives, which are used as armament for survival and cultural resistance and allow them to overcome the limits imposed on their black subjectivity. Thus, this doctoral work relates writings which had not been compared yet, broadening the understanding of the comparative scope of contemporary literature.