Between lucidity and obtuseness: the pro-symbolism criticism in periodicals from Rio de Janeiro (1899-1901)

Abstract

From 1899 to 1901, initiatives were taken in Rio de janeiro in memory of Cruz e Souza in memory of Cruz e Sousa, whom had died of tuberculosis in 1898. Events were organized in his honor, the poet's posthumous works were published. Sílvio Romero attributed prominence to him in Brazilian poetry, and works that followed the path opened by him came to light. Regular newspapers and magazine critics such as José Veríssimo such as José Veríssimo, Artur Azevedo and Medeiros e Albuquerque talked about all these events, but in an essentially negative way. The counterpoint to these manifestations was discreet, and it depended of spontaneous interventions of writers that, in some way, were associated with symbolism such as Mário Pederneiras, João Itiberê, Félix Pacheco and Luís Guimarães Filho. It was the outline of a criticism of support. However, it Didi not have a very safe or uniform criteria to judge works and authors with which it sympathized, as it is intended to demonstrate.