The Sapphic Song of Cassandra Rios
Myth and Poetry in “Minha Metempsicose"
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48075/rt.v19i1.35062Keywords:
Cassandra Rios, Sappho of Lesbos, Homoaffective literature, Eroticism, Sapphic traditionAbstract
This article analyzes Minha Metempsicose, by Cassandra Rios, through an intertextual dialogue with the poetry of Sappho of Lesbos. Seeking to understand the relationship between Sapphic poetics and Rios's literary production, the research investigates how the Brazilian writer reinterprets the myth and the Greek lyrical tradition to construct an erotic and transgressive literature. To this end, the study discusses formal and thematic aspects of the work, such as the influence of Sapphic melic poetry, textual fragmentation, poetic performance, and the notion of metempsychosis as a literary rebirth. Additionally, the research contextualizes Minha Metempsicose within the framework of censorship in 20th-century Brazil, highlighting how Cassandra Rios’ writing faced institutional persecution while simultaneously establishing itself as a landmark in national homoaffective literature. The analysis highlights how fragmentation and Dionysian aesthetics dialogue with the Sapphic tradition, establishing a homoaffective writing that acts as literary resistance against censorship. By articulating elements of the Greek tradition with contemporary resistance, the article reinforces the importance of Cassandra Rios' work in the debate on eroticism, identity and subversion in Brazilian literature.
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