Reflexões sobre poética nas cartas enviadas por Murilo Mendes para João Cabral de Melo Neto (1957-1962)

Abstract

In the collection of the Rui Barbosa house, there are letters sent by Murilo Mendes (1901-1975) to João Cabral de Melo Neto (1920-1999), written between 1943 and 1975. The epistolary, still unpublished, consists of 147 pieces, including letters, notes and postcards and brings countless information about the poetics of the two authors, about the intellectual exchange between them, about the genesis of their texts, in addition to biographical data that is still little known. Trough letters, Murilo sends his texts to his friend to evaluate and, at the same time, exercices his critical side by giving advice or proposing changes. The objective of this essay will be to reconstruct the fruitful debate held between the two poets, emphasizing the operation of exchanging texts submitted to critical reading and the reciprocal suggestions for modifications during the beginning of Murilo Mendes’ Italian phase (1957-1975). These elements bring countless information about the process of creating the works of the two authors, also taking into account the large network of readings and intertextual references.