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| Prêmio Machado de Assis | |
|---|---|
| Name | Prêmio Machado de Assis |
| Awarded for | lifetime achievement in Brazilian literature |
| Presenter | Academia Brasileira de Letras |
| Country | Brazil |
| First awarded | 1941 |
Prêmio Machado de Assis is a lifetime literary award conferred by the Academia Brasileira de Letras to honor outstanding careers in Brazilian literature, commemorating the influence of Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis. The prize recognizes authors across genres including fiction, poetry, essay, and literary criticism, situating recipients within Brazil's broader cultural institutions such as the Ministério da Cultura (Brasil), Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, and national publishing houses like Editora Globo and Companhia das Letras. Historically linked to major Brazilian intellectual movements—such as the Romanticism in Brazil, Realism in Brazil, and the Modernist Week (1922)—the award has been given to novelists, poets, and scholars connected to universities like the Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, and research centers including the Fundação Getulio Vargas and the Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros.
Instituted in 1941 by the Academia Brasileira de Letras amid debates involving figures from the First Brazilian Republic, the prize emerged as part of institutional consolidations following the cultural policies of the Estado Novo era and conversations held in salons frequented by contemporaries of Machado such as Rui Barbosa, Machado de Assis's contemporaries, and later critics like Sérgio Buarque de Holanda and Mário de Andrade. Early recipients included authors and scholars connected to periodicals like Revista do Brasil, publishing houses such as Livraria José Olympio, and intellectual networks around the Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro), reflecting ties with municipal and federal cultural administrations in Rio de Janeiro (city), São Paulo (state), and other regional centers like Salvador, Bahia and Porto Alegre. Over decades the prize paralleled shifts in Brazilian letters evident in associations with movements and institutions such as Semana de Arte Moderna (1922), Grupo Escol (1928), and later academic programs at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and Universidade Federal da Bahia.
Candidates are evaluated by panels of members of the Academia Brasileira de Letras, often including former laureates, elected chairs formerly occupied by literary figures such as Cecília Meireles, Ruy Barbosa, and João Cabral de Melo Neto. Eligibility emphasizes a published corpus recognized by publishers like Editora Perspectiva and Editora Record, bibliographic presence in institutions including the Biblioteca Nacional (Brasil) and citations in journals such as Revista de História. Selection procedures involve nomination, deliberation, and voting during plenary sessions of the Academia Brasileira de Letras, with influence from critics and scholars associated with the Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa, Instituto Moreira Salles, and university departments at Universidade de Brasília and Universidade Estadual de Campinas. The prize criteria reflect valuation by literary historians connected to archives like the Arquivo Nacional (Brazil) and curators at venues such as the Museu de Arte de São Paulo.
Laureates include prominent novelists, poets, and essayists whose careers intersect with figures and institutions such as Jorge Amado, Clarice Lispector, João Guimarães Rosa, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Érico Veríssimo, Graciliano Ramos, Rubem Fonseca, Lima Barreto, Manuel Bandeira, Nelson Rodrigues, Paulo Leminski, Nélida Piñon, Autran Dourado, Caio Fernando Abreu, Hilda Hilst, Ariano Suassuna, Antonio Candido, Raduan Nassar, Milton Hatoum, Chico Buarque, Mário Quintana, Rachel de Queiroz, Cabo Daciolo. The award has amplified careers via associations with cultural festivals like the Bienal Internacional do Livro de São Paulo, academic chairs at institutions such as Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul and Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, and reissues by publishers including Editora Companhia das Letras and Globo Livros. Recipients' works have been studied in graduate programs at Universidade de Coimbra and translated for international publishers tied to fairs like the Frankfurt Book Fair and Biennale di Venezia, affecting canon formation in curricula at conservatories and departments like those at Universidade de Lisboa.
As a marker of literary prestige, the prize has shaped cultural memory in Brazil through exhibitions at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, retrospectives organized by the Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, and commemorations in media outlets such as O Estado de S. Paulo, Folha de S.Paulo, and Jornal do Brasil. The accolade intersects with public cultural policy debates involving the Ministério da Cultura (Brasil) and NGOs like Instituto Moreira Salles, influencing archival practices at the Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo and pedagogical choices at institutions such as the Universidade Federal Fluminense. The award's visibility contributes to literary tourism in locales associated with laureates—Petrópolis, Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Olinda—and to scholarly projects at research centers like the Centro de Estudos Avançados (USP) and the Instituto de Literatura Brasileira.
Critiques of the award have centered on perceived institutional conservatism, debates involving factions within the Academia Brasileira de Letras, and clashes among intellectuals linked to the Partido dos Trabalhadores, Partido Social Liberal, and independent cultural critics formerly affiliated with publications such as Veja, CartaCapital, and Piauí. Controversies have addressed issues of regional representation affecting authors from the Norte Region, Brazil and Nordeste Region, Brazil, gender parity involving poets like Cecília Meireles and Hilda Hilst, and questions about literary canons debated by scholars including Antonio Candido and critics tied to universities like Universidade de São Paulo and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Debates also engage publishers such as Editora Record and Cosac Naify over market influence, translations negotiated at fairs like the London Book Fair, and the role of state cultural funding administered through programs linked to the Ministério da Cultura (Brasil) and state secretariats.
Category:Brazilian literary awards