A Dolorosa Raiz do Micondó

by Conceição Lima

Nesta coletânea de 27 poemas da poetisa são-tomense Conceição Lima, o micondó, árvore considerada sagrada em diversas regiões da África, simboliza origem, casa, morada ancestral. A evocação de tais raízes é dolorosa devido a acontecimentos históricos, como a escravidão e a colonização, que imprimiram profundas feridas e rupturas na identidade nacional, e na própria poetisa, cujos antepassados foram trazidos à força para o arquipélago africano e mais tarde enviados para outras terras como escravos. Íntima, pessoal e sofrida, a poesia de Conceição Lima é também dotada de um lirismo e esteticismo sublimes, presenteados aqui pela primeira vez ao público brasileiro. Embora a dor seja uma constante em seus versos, o sentimento que os perpassa é o da sutil esperança de que a mesma memória que resgata os fatos traumáticos ajude a fazer germinar algo novo dos escombros, como o micondó que, com suas profundas raízes e frondosa copa, fez fl orescer o alfabeto poético de Conceição Lima.

Genres: Africa, African Literature

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Maria da Conceição de Deus Lima (Santana, December 8, 1961), also known as Conceição Lima, is a Santomean poet from the town of Santana in São Tomé, one of two islands in the small nation of São Tomé and Príncipe situated in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western coast of Africa. She studied journalism in Portugal and worked in radio, television and in the print press in her native country. In 1993, Conceição Lima founded the weekly independent publication O País Hoje (The Country Today) which she directed and wrote for during its circulation. She received a degree in Afro-Portuguese and Brazilian Studies from King's College in London. Lima resides in London where she works as a journalist and producer for the BBC Portuguese Language Services. Her poetry has been published in newspapers, magazines, and anthologies in several countries. O Útero da Casa was her first book of poetry and was published in 2004 in Lisbon by the Portuguese publishing house Caminho. Her second book (also poetry), A Dolorosa Raiz do Micondó, was released in 2006 by the same publisher. Some of her work has been translated into English by the Poetry Translation Centre in London.

Lima is a postcolonial writer, one of the few poets who came of age after the independence of her country in 1975. She started writing poems as a teenager and, in 1979, at the age of nineteen, traveled to Angola where she participated in the Sixth Conference of Afro-Asian Writers. She recited some of her poems and was probably one of the youngest participants present. Conceição Lima considers this to be the first phase of her career as a poet. The second phase of her career started with the publication of her poems in newspapers, magazines and anthologies. Additionally some of her work has been translated into English by the Poetry Translation Centre in London.

Reviews

[Fernanda Vilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belo livro de poesias que dá um retrato do que é São Tomé. Excelente poeta.

[Anna Luisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interessante

[Daniela Rodrigues · Rating 2 out of 5]

Livro de poesia, com claro foco na guerra que se viveu em África, em particupar São Tomé e Príncipe, mas também mencionando o impacto que a escravatura ainda tem no país.