WHEN POETRY DANCES IN THE MATERIALITY OF THE WORK

Abstract

Given the recurrent discussions about illustration and the text-image relationship in
works aimed at children and young adults, we propose to address these interactions between
verbal text, images, graphic resources, and paratextual elements through an analytical reading of
two distinct works by Manoel de Barros: Escritos em Verbal de Ave (Barros, 2011) and Poeminha
em Língua de Brincar (Barros, 2019), illustrated by Kammal João. The work Escritos em Verbal
de Ave consists of fourteen pages folded in a cross shape, forming a mosaic, and presents a brief
poetic language (resembling haikus). In Poeminha em Língua de Brincar, the verses, when
articulated with illustrations, allow for powerful cross-connections within the work, which is
reinforced by the graphic aspects. The interplay between words, their placement on the pages,
images, colors, and shapes ultimately echoes the distinctive features of the poet's poetics, creating
a multisemiotic dance of meaning production. For the analytical reading of the works, Pfeiffer
(1966), Cohen (1974), Staiger (1975), and Paz (1986) contribute to the understanding of poetic
language. The relationship between verbal and visual texts is based on Linden (2011) and
Nikolajeva & Scott (2011), while aspects related to the book and its materiality are discussed by
Genette (2009), particularly the paratextual elements that create a certain "indecisive zone"
between the interior and exterior of the work. The different resources and elements of the works
provide opportunities for interplay of meanings, an aspect that opens different doors for the
reader's engagement with each of the works.