Chico Buarque’s work is the subject of another book

In his 58-year career, Chico Buarque has composed 537 songs, recorded 1,302 tracks, released 50 albums (solo or in collaboration, in the studio or live), written four plays, a novella, a book of short stories and six novels. His next novel, “Bambino a Roma”, is due to be published in August. This impressive work defines the legacy of the composer, playwright and writer, who celebrated his 80th birthday with his family in Paris on June 19.

Buarque’s extensive work is the subject of more than a dozen books, some of which are being published to mark his eightieth anniversary. Among the authors is Adélia Bezerra de Meneses, professor of literary theory at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and the University of São Paulo (USP). She has written three books on the artist, and her latest, “Chico, Buarque ou a Poesia Resistente – Ensaios sobre as Letras de Canções Recentes”, is nearing completion.

Meneses was a student activist in the 1960s who worked on adult literacy in a working-class village in Osasco, using the method of Paulo Freire. She participated in Popular Action meetings and attended, with “equal passion”, Brazilian popular music festivals (MPB) at the Paramount Theater (TV Record). She completed her master’s and doctorate under the supervision of Antonio Candido, a professor at the Institute of Literary Theory and Comparative Literature at the University of São Paulo (USP). Her dissertation was published in the book “Desenho Mágico – Poesia e Política em Chico Buarque”, which won the Jabuti Prize in the essay category in 1982.

In an interview with Agência Brasil, Meneses explains why Chico Buarque’s songs deserve a literary study: “From my own experience, I can say that not every song text can be treated as a poem, but Chico’s songs support this approach, which is neither superior nor inferior to musical analysis: it is a different approach. It is also important to note that there are differences between composers and, by his own admission, Buarque tends more towards lyrics than music.”

In her analysis of the artist’s work, the author highlights that Chico Buarque’s work can be categorized as “poetry of resistance”, which includes nostalgic/love poetry, utopia and criticism. She stresses that this classification does not mean “reduction to songs with explicit social themes”.

Source: Agência Brasil