Cordel Literature
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Cordel literature (from the Portuguese term, ''literatura de cordel'', literally "string literature", ) are popular and inexpensively printed booklets or
pamphlets A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...
containing
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
novels,
poems Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
and
songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...
. They are produced and sold in street markets and by street vendors in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, mainly in the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...
. They are so named because they are hung from strings to display them to potential customers, and the word for rope in Portuguese is ''corda'', from which the term ''cordel'' is derived.


History

Cordel literature forms one of the least altered continuations of the Western traditions of popular literature, such as
chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...
s, and popular prints. Its history dates back to the 16th century, when the printing of oral reports became popularized in the Renaissance. This genre derives from the '' papel volante'' tradition of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, a literary genre also found in Spain during the 18th and 19th centuries, and offered readers a wide array of topics, from basic instruction to political tracts. The name comes from the way the leaflets were traditionally displayed for sale, hung on ropes, twine or string in Portugal. It remains a popular literary form in Brazil. In the Northeastern region of Brazil, the name was adopted, but the leaflet may or may not be displayed on string. Some poems are illustrated with
woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
s, also used on the covers. The most common stanzas are those of ten, eight or six verses. The authors, or ''cordelistas'', recite these verses in a melodious and cadenced way, accompanied by a musical instrument named
viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
. Readings or declamations of these verses are performed to win over potential buyers. In 1988, the Academia Brasileira de Literatura de Cordel (ABLC) razilian Academy of Cordel Literaturewas founded in Rio de Janeiro in order to bring together the exponents of this Brazilian literary genre. According to the poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade it is one of the purest manifestations of the inventive spirit, the sense of humor and the critical capacity of Brazilians from the interior and of the humblest backgrounds.


Form

Usually produced in black and white, in
quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...
format, ''cordel'' chapbooks are usually illustrated with
woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
s. Often both the author or poet's and the woodcut artist's names will appear in the credits of the book. Two expressive woodcutters are Adir Botelho and José Francisco Borges, whose woodcuts have been exhibited in the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
and the Smithsonian. The cordel literature found its zenith in the decades of 1920s and 1930s, with the popular legend created by the cangaceiros of
Lampião "Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva (; 7 June 1897 – 28 July 1938), better known as Lampião (older spelling: ''Lampeão'', , meaning "lantern" or "oil lamp"), was probably the most successful traditional Brazilian bandit leader of the 20th c ...
, a band of outlaws and bandolier bandits who terrorized the region for almost 20 years. The
War of Canudos The War of Canudos (, , 1896–1897) was a conflict between the First Brazilian Republic and the residents of Canudos in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern state of Bahia. It was waged in the aftermath of the Lei Áurea, abolition of sl ...
, a military conflict in the state of
Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
, 1896–1897, has been also a frequent theme of cordel literature, due to its epic dimensions and importance for the history of the Northeast backlands. Cordel literature can still be found in the Northeastern Brazilian states, most notably in
Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...
,
Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...
and
Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...
.


Authors

Some of the main authors from the past are Leandro Gomes de Barros (1865–1918) and João Martins de Athayde (1880–1959). Today some Cordel Literature authors as Marcelo Soares, Davi Teixeira, Meca Moreco and Altair Leal are keeping this popular expression alive. Those writers and other authors are helping to show the importance of popular art to Brazil and to the world. There are a lot of not-well-known cordel authors in Brazil, although there are still chapbooks that tell widely known old tales, even reinvented, in a new context. See as an example a masterpiece of the past decades: ''A Chegada de Lampião no Inferno'' (The Arrival of Lampião in Hell) by José Pacheco, as well as today's ''A Chegada de Lula no Inferno'' (The Arrival of Lula in Hell); besides "classics", living folk poetry say to us much both about ''cordel'' and its strong roots in the everyday life of the people and its place in Brazilian culture as a whole.


See also

* Lira popular


References


External links

; Digital libraries dedicated to cordel literature Source:
Collection Lira Popular
(University of Chile)
CBDRS
- Catálogo y Biblioteca Digital de Relaciones de Sucesos (University of Coruña)
Comedias Sueltas USA

Corpus de Literatura Oral
(University of Jaén)

(University of Geneva)
Fons especials
(University of Lleida)
Fundation Joaquín Díaz

Impresos Populares Iberoamericanos
- IPI (UNAM) * Th
Bibliothèque Virtuelle Cordel
(University of Poitiers)
Literatura de cordel y teatro en España
(1675-1825)

(National library of Chile)
Mapping Pliegos
(Catholic University of Valencia, Library T. Navarro Tomás, CSIC, Cambridge University)
Romanços
- Imatgeria Popular (Calaix - Generalitat de Catalunya)
Spanish Chapbooks
(Cambridge University Digital Library - CUDL) ; Association and other resources

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20040804122403/http://www.cordelon.hpg.ig.com.br/biblioteca_cordel.htm Biblioteca Cordel On-Line
Tesoros Trading Company reprint of New York Times article about Jose Borges

Academia Brasileira de Literatura de Cordel


Book arts Brazilian literature Printmaking {{book-art-stub