grace spider was a Brazilian writer and diplomat belonging to the pre-modernist movement in Brazil.
He was one of the founders of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL) in 1897, holding chair number 38, whose patron was Tobias Barreto. In addition, he played a leading role in the Week of Modern Art (1922).
Biography
José Pereira da Graça Aranha was born on June 21, 1868 in the city of São Luís, capital of Maranhão.
He was the son of Temístocles da Silva Maciel Aranha and Maria da Glória da Graça. His family was wealthy and, therefore, Graça Aranha from an early age had a good education.
He entered the Recife Faculty to study law, graduating in 1886. With a bachelor's degree in Law, he moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he held the position of judge. Later, he was also a judge in the State of Espírito Santo.
It was there that he wrote his most important work “Canaan”. Themes such as racism, prejudice and immigration were explored by him in the novel.
He traveled to several countries in Europe (England, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, France and Holland) as a diplomat. These trips were essential for him to join the modernist movement that was emerging in Brazil.
This is because he had contact with European avant-gardes and modern art. He was the organizer of the Modern Art Week which took place at the Municipal Theater of São Paulo in 1922.
In addition to being an organizer, he was in charge of delivering the opening speech entitled: “The aesthetic emotion in modern art”.
Although I have been one of the founders of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL), he broke with the ABL in 1924. It was at the Conference entitled "The Modern Spirit”, which he declares:
“The foundation of the Academy was a mistake and it was a mistake.”.
This is because his avant-garde ideas combined with current modernism were not in accordance with the academicism disseminated by the Academy. In the words of the writer:
“If the Academy deviates from this regenerative movement, if the Academy does not renew itself, die Academy!”
“The Academia Brasileira died for me, just as it does not exist for the thought and current life of Brazil. If I was inconsistent entering and remaining there, I separate myself from the Academy because of consistency.”
Graça Aranha died in Rio de Janeiro on January 26, 1931 at the age of 62.
Curiosity
Graça Aranha was the only founder and writer who established a connection with the Academia Brasileira de Letras, without having published a work.
Construction
Graça Aranha's main works are:
- Canaan (1902)
- Malazarte (1914)
- The Aesthetics of Life (1921)
- Correspondence between Machado de Assis and Joaquim Nabuco (1923)
- Modern Spirit (1925)
- The Marvelous Journey (1929)
- My Own Novel (1931)
- The Manifesto of Social Worlds (1935)
Canaan
Canaan (1902) is the most emblematic work of Graça Aranha and one of the most important in Pre-Modernism. It is a regionalist novel that has documentary value.
The theme explored by the writer revolves around the issue of German migration in the State of Espírito Santo.
Read too:
- pre-modernism
- Characteristics of Pre-Modernism
- The Language of Pre-Modernism
