Academia Brasileira de Letras

Academia Brasileira de Letras
Name	Academia Brasileira de Letras
Abbr	ABL
Formation	1897
Type	Cultural institution
Headquarters	Rio de Janeiro
Leader title	President

Academia Brasileira de Letras is a literary society founded in 1897 in Rio de Janeiro that models itself on the Académie française and aims to promote the Portuguese language and Brazilian literature. Its founding drew figures from the Brazilian literary scene such as Machado de Assis, Rui Barbosa, Joaquim Nabuco, Aluísio Azevedo and José de Alencar, and engaged contemporaries connected to institutions like the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Imperial Academy of Sciences and ministries in the First Brazilian Republic. The Academy's role intersects with cultural actors including the Brazilian Academy of Letters fundraising committees, municipal authorities of Rio de Janeiro (city), and publishing entities like Editora Nova Fronteira and Companhia das Letras.

History

The Academy was established after meetings involving writers associated with periodicals such as A Estação and Revista Brasileira and intellectual circles around figures like Machado de Assis, Rui Barbosa, Joaquim Nabuco, Olavo Bilac and Coelho Neto. Its 1897 founding occurred in the context of debates influenced by European institutions such as the Académie française, the Real Academia Española, and the Accademia della Crusca, and by political events including the aftermath of the Proclamation of the Republic (1889). Early patrons included statesmen and diplomats tied to the Ministry of Justice (Brazil) and the Ministry of Education (Brazil), while cultural exchanges involved authors published by houses like Livraria Garnier and journals such as A Semana Ilustrada. Over decades the Academy responded to controversies linked to language standardization, interacting with scholars from the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro, critics like Sérgio Buarque de Holanda and novelists like Jorge Amado, navigating periods including the Vargas Era and the transition to the New Republic.

Organization and Membership

Structured with forty chairs inspired by the forty seats of the Académie française, the Academy's membership comprises lifetime occupants elected to replace predecessors such as Machado de Assis and Aluísio Azevedo. Election procedures have involved nominees proposed by sitting members including presidents from institutions like the Federal Senate of Brazil, ministers with ties to the Ministry of Culture and rectors from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. Membership has included poets, novelists, critics and statesmen connected to entities such as the Supreme Federal Court (Brazil) and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. Officers—president, secretary and treasurer—serve terms and coordinate with committees that interact with organizations like the Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, municipal bodies of Rio de Janeiro (city), and international academies such as the Real Academia Española.

Functions and Activities

The Academy conducts ceremonies, awards, and public readings that feature laureates from prizes comparable to the Prêmio Jabuti, the Camões Prize, and the Prêmio Machado de Assis. It organizes colloquia and debates with scholars affiliated with the Universidade de São Paulo, the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and research centers like the Fundação Getúlio Vargas. The institution liaises with cultural festivals such as the Bienal do Livro de São Paulo and engages in language advocacy intersecting with reform projects that recall negotiations like those leading to the Orthographic Agreement of 1990. Through lectures and partnerships it has hosted speakers linked to the Biblioteca Nacional (Brazil), editors from Editora Record, and international guests from the Académie française and the Real Academia Española.

Publications and Library

The Academy publishes memoirs, proceedings and critical editions involving works by authors such as Machado de Assis, José de Alencar, Aluísio Azevedo, Joaquim Manuel de Macedo and Olavo Bilac, and maintains a library and archives used by researchers from the Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa, the Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros and the Museu Nacional (Brazil). Its bulletins and collections have been cited alongside periodicals like Revista do Brasil and scholarly series published by Editora José Olímpio and Civilização Brasileira. The library holdings encompass manuscripts, correspondence and first editions linked to figures such as Castro Alves, Cruz e Sousa, Lima Barreto and Graça Aranha, serving academics from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul and the Universidade Federal do Paraná.

Building and Headquarters

The Academy's headquarters occupy a landmark building on the Quinta da Boa Vista axis in Rio de Janeiro (city), near sites like the Praça XV de Novembro (Rio de Janeiro), the National Library of Brazil and the Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro. The construction and decoration involved artists and artisans connected to the Academy of Fine Arts (Brazil), restorations coordinated with the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional and exhibitions that have displayed objects related to Machado de Assis, Rui Barbosa and Afonso Arinos. The building hosts ceremonies, salons and portrait galleries featuring likenesses of members such as Coelho Neto, Olavo Bilac, Jorge Amado and Nélida Piñon.

Notable Members and Seat Holders

Seat holders have included foundational and later figures across Brazilian letters: Machado de Assis, Rui Barbosa, Aluísio Azevedo, José de Alencar, Olavo Bilac, Coelho Neto, Graça Aranha, Jorge Amado, Lima Barreto, Castro Alves, Cruz e Sousa, Rachel de Queiroz, Ariano Suassuna, Nélida Piñon, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Manuel Bandeira, Joaquim Nabuco, Jorge de Lima, Mario de Andrade, Graciliano Ramos, José Lins do Rego, Oswald de Andrade, Mário Vargas Llosa (honorary contexts), Clarice Lispector, Rubem Braga, Fernando Pessoa (honorary links), Juan Ramón Jiménez (honorary), Raduan Nassar, Ferreira Gullar, Cecília Meireles, Evandro Lins e Silva; scholars and statesmen who occupied or influenced seats connected with institutions such as the Supremo Tribunal Federal (Brazil), Ministry of Education (Brazil), Museu Imperial de Petrópolis and the Fundação Biblioteca Nacional. The roster reflects interactions with publishers such as Companhia das Letras, Editora Record, Editora Rocco and cultural events like the FLIP.

Category:Brazilian literature Category:Cultural organizations based in Rio de Janeiro