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| Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Academia Brasileira de Letras |
| Native name | Academia Brasileira de Letras |
| Abbreviation | ABL |
| Formation | 20 July 1897 |
| Type | Literary society |
| Headquarters | Rio de Janeiro |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Leader title | President |
Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) The Academia Brasileira de Letras is Brazil's preeminent literary academy, founded in 1897 to cultivate the Portuguese language and national literature. Modeled on the Académie française, the institution has included prominent figures from the worlds of letters, politics, and the arts, influencing cultural debates involving authors, journalists, and intellectuals across Latin America and Europe. Its membership and activities intersect with personalities associated with institutions such as the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, the Museu Nacional, and the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura.
The foundation drew together writers associated with the República Velha, journalists from Gazeta de Notícias, and intellectuals from the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro. Early members included founders who had ties to the Parque Lage salon, the Jornal do Comércio, and the milieu around Machado de Assis, who served as the first president and connected the academy to figures such as José de Alencar, Visconde de Taunay, Joaquim Nabuco, and Castro Alves. During the First Brazilian Republic the academy interacted with politicians like Prudente de Morais and Floriano Peixoto, and cultural institutions such as the Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil and the Sociedade Brasileira de Geografia. In the 20th century its roster included modernists linked to the Semana de Arte Moderna de 1922, members associated with Mário de Andrade, Oswald de Andrade, Manuel Bandeira, and correspondents connected to the Orfeu magazine and the Revista de Antropofagia. Under governments such as that of Getúlio Vargas and during the Estado Novo period the academy negotiated relations with ministries and foundations including the Fundação Getulio Vargas and the Ministério da Educação e Saúde Pública. Late-century names included writers who participated in debates alongside figures from the Tropicalismo movement and critics linked to the Universidade de São Paulo and the Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
The academy comprises forty lifetime members occupying numbered chairs, a structure inspired by the Académie Française and echoed by institutions like the Royal Society of Literature and the Real Academia Española. Elections have brought in novelists, poets, essayists, and public intellectuals connected to the Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, the Casa de Rui Barbosa, and the Museu da Língua Portuguesa. Chairs have been held by luminaries whose careers intersect with entities such as the Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa, the Instituto Moreira Salles, the Editora Globo, the Companhia das Letras, and the Livraria Leitura. Honorary members and correspondents have included figures with ties to the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the British Library, and the Library of Congress. Presidencies have featured personalities who maintained relations with the Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro, cultural councils like the Conselho Federal de Cultura, and international academies such as the Real Academia Española and the Accademia della Crusca.
The academy promotes literary standards through awards, pronouncements, and events paralleling the activities of the Prêmio Jabuti, the Prêmio Camões, and the Prêmio Machado de Assis. It hosts lectures, debates, and sessions attended by scholars from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, the Universidade Federal do Ceará, the Universidade Federal da Bahia, and cultural agents associated with the Instituto Cervantes and the Goethe-Institut. Outreach includes partnerships with festivals like the Bienal do Livro de São Paulo, collaborations with publishers such as Editora Companhia das Letras and Editora Rocco, and exchanges with foreign academies including the Academia Chilena de la Lengua and the Real Academia Española. The academy advises on orthographic reform processes that have involved committees and representatives from the Instituto Internacional de Língua Portuguesa and ministries in lusophone countries including Portugal, Angola, and Mozambique.
The institution maintains publishing programs and archival collections comparable to the catalogues of the Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil and the holdings of the Arquivo Nacional. Its publications include bulletins, critical editions, and proceedings that engage scholars tied to the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, and the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. The library and manuscript collections contain materials related to writers such as Machado de Assis, Aluísio Azevedo, Euclides da Cunha, Cecília Meireles, and Carlos Drummond de Andrade, and they collaborate with research centers like the Centro de Pesquisa e Documentação de História Contemporânea do Brasil and the Instituto Moreira Salles. Cataloguing and digitization projects have brought the academy into networks with the World Digital Library, the Hispanoteca, and repositories including the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal.
The academy is housed in the Palácio do Langsdorff, popularly called the Petit Trianon, located in the Laranjeiras neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. The palace has architectural and preservation links to restorations involving the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional and to conservationists who have worked with sites such as the Palácio Guanabara, the Palácio do Catete, and the Museu Histórico Nacional. The building contains salons and an auditorium used for sessions attended by diplomats from embassies like the Embassy of Portugal in Brazil, cultural attachés from the Embassy of France in Brazil, and visiting delegations from academies such as the Accademia dei Lincei and the Svenska Akademien.
The academy has faced criticism over appointments, ideological disputes, and its relationship to public policy, provoking debates involving journalists from the Folha de S.Paulo, editors from O Globo, and commentators affiliated with outlets like Veja and CartaCapital. Controversies have touched on representation and diversity, prompting comparisons with reform efforts at the Royal Society and discussions in academic forums at the Universidade de Brasília and the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. High-profile disagreements have involved literary figures connected to the Movimento Modernista and polemical exchanges referencing authors such as Graciliano Ramos, Clarice Lispector, Paulo Freire, and Gilberto Freyre. Allegations concerning transparency, selection procedures, and cultural politics have been examined in hearings and reports involving municipal and federal cultural bodies, in dialogues with institutions like the Ministério da Cultura and NGOs tied to the Instituto Moreira Salles.
Category:Brazilian literature Category:Cultural organizations in Brazil