Brazilian cordel literature collection, 1988-2019
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Summary
- Abstract:
- Cordel literature are popular and inexpensively printed booklets or pamphlets in Brazil containing folk novels, poems, and songs. They are a grassroots form of communication and serve as a conduit for popular opinion. This collection contains 35 booklets of cordel literature written by various authors. These booklets primarily address political topics such as elections, contemporary Brazilian presidents, and high-profile corruption.
- Extent:
- 0.1 Linear Feet
- Language:
- Materials in Portuguese.
- Collection ID:
- RL.11965
Background
- Scope and content:
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Collection contains 35 booklets of cordel literature written by various authors. These booklets primarily address political topics such as elections, contemporary Brazilian presidents, and high-profile corruption, including the Mensalão vote-buying scandal and Operação Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash) criminal investigation.
- Biographical / historical:
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Brazilian chapbooks, known as literatura de cordel, are typically sold at street fairs, where the pamphlets are hung by string (cordel in Portuguese). They are a grassroots form of communication whose purpose is both education and entertainment. Cordel pamphlets serve the community by alerting them to health concerns such as dengue fever. They provide entertainment in the re-telling of folk tales and more importantly, they chronicle political, social, and cultural events. In addition to the poet (cordelista) who writes the text, there is often an artist who creates a woodblock print as cover illustration. The third player is the repentista, a singer who improvises verses accompanied by a guitar and/or an accordion, often as a duet. Today these chapbooks continue to serve as a conduit for popular opinion.
Source: Library of Congress (accessed January 6, 2022).
- Acquisition information:
- The Brazilian cordel literature collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2019.
- Processing information:
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Processed by Leah Tams, January 2022.
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2019-0185.
- Arrangement:
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Material arranged alphabetically by author.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
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The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Brazilian cordel literature collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m15q9g