Cordel: orality and writing in flux

Abstract

The text presents one reflection on the effects of a dichotomous theoretical-critical pattern to act in cordel studies in Brazil. According to this model, the originality and authenticity of this poetics are due to its unilateral belonging to the oral tradition or to the written culture and its printing technologies, without tensioning the lines of force that cross the oral/written coexistence with its complex temporalities. The research with a qualitative approach, outlined as a bibliographical study, is guided by a theoretical-methodological perspective of decolonial inspiration, coming close to authors such as Santos (2007), Quijano (2005), and Mignolo (2003, 2008). Therefore, it is possible to visualize approaches that problematize an excluding interpretative pattern and build more holistic meanings when considering the cordel in its cultural webs. I highlight this dimension in Francisca Pereira dos Santos’s works, a researcher who presents an understanding of the organizational dynamics and constitutive elements of cordel, triggering theoretical reflection produced by cordelistas. With this writing, I intend to connect with the efforts of researchers who assume a dialogic posture with the poets and the risk of producing a writing with these texts and not just about them.