Caminhos de Cora : a estética da recepção de "Poemas dos becos de Goiás e estórias mais" de 1965 a 1985

Abstract

This research investigates the reception of Poemas dos Becos de Goiás e Estórias Mais — the first published book by Cora Coralina — from 1965 to 1985. Our objective is to understand how this work, centered on the memories and customs of the interior of Goiás, was received and assimilated in the two decades following its release. To this end, we present the foundations of the Aesthetics of Reception and the figure of the reader, according to the approaches of Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser. Given the modest reception of the first edition of Poemas dos Becos de Goiás e Estórias Mais and the thirteen-year hiatus until its re-release by the Press of the Federal University of Goiás, this research operates under the hypothesis that public reception, driven by editorial initiative, was essential for the work to gain visibility and achieve national recognition. A significant aspect of our study is the investigation of Cora Coralina as a reader. To this end, we examine the poetess’s library, based on the cataloged books from her collection; reference statements made by the author; and explore her work as a bookseller in São Paulo. In this process, we identify a little-known figure who may have influenced Ana Lins’s formation as a reader and, later, as a writer. We also examine the early texts of Cora Coralina, which preceded the publication of her inaugural work. From this perspective, methodologically, we investigate the first literary and documentary texts that characterize the reception of Cora Coralina’s inaugural work and analyze the aesthetic and editorial characteristics of the first six editions, which were published while the author was still alive. As a result, we corroborate the author-work-reader relationship outlined by Jauss and Iser; validate the recognition and value attributed by the first critics to the “different way of telling old stories” proposed by Cora Coralina; confirm the importance of the editorial strategy for the diffusion of the book and the poetess’s notoriety; uncover and understand Cora Coralina’s literary repertoire, her relationship with reading, and the initial texts that established the foundations of her poetics. By offering a perspective on the first readers and the initial reception of Poemas dos Becos de Goiás e Estórias Mais — which marks its 60th anniversary this year — this dissertation contributes to the field of literary studies, especially Reception Theory, by exploring its foundations and the complexity of the figure of the reader. Furthermore, it seeks to highlight Cora Coralina’s vast literary repertoire, her relationship with reading, and the singularity of her writing, reaffirming the value of her work not only for regional literature but also for the national literary panorama.