“Dear João Cabral de Melo Neto” – Some Portuguese letters

Abstract

João Cabral de Melo Neto’s widely known distaste for letter writing, as Murilo Mendes pointed out in a 1960 letter, has not prevented him from written communication. Still, the author's private archive preserves a sizeable number of letters and postcards, which documents his life and work from the 1940s until the late 1990s, when he died. This collection includes the epistolary exchange between key figures of the 20^th century in Portugal, such Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Alexandre O'Neill, Alberto de Serpa, António Reis, from which one could witness the discussion of their aesthetic and poetics expressions, or even the practical necessities. Likewise, it registers João Cabral’s reception in that literary context. As the Luso-Brazilian background is highlighted, these letters reveal to us his relationship with Portuguese poets, writers and intellectuals, not only making evident the process of influence, but also underlying João Cabral’s canonical placement in the Portuguese language poetry.