A mulher ausente through the earth, the water and the voice of Adalgisa Nery

Abstract

This paper aims to better point Adalgisa Nery’s place in the Brazilian literary historiography. Her work will be addressed under the perspective of a possible individual expression cut in three poems – marked by the earth, water and voice elements – collected in the book A mulher ausente (1940), which will be approached in its princeps edition. These three compositions will be compared to the poetry of her late husband and published posthumously in Antologia de poetas brasileiros bissextos contemporâneos (1946). Understood as a peculiarly individualized voice, Adalgisa Nery’s poetry will be supported by Mário de Andrade’s reception, the first and only critic of her work in O empalhador de passsarinho (1946), which will also be considered as reading instrument to update her authorial understanding.