Cuíer: Queer Brazil

Books are Magic hosts a celebration of Cuíer: Queer Brazil, the latest installment of the Calico Series from Two Lines Press. Contributors Bruna Dantas Lobato, Johnny Lorenz, and Natalia Affonso join us for readings and a discussion. Moderated by Sara Balabanlilar.

This event will take place on Zoom. Register on Books Are Magic Eventbrite page(opens in a new tab) and don’t forget to buy a copy of the book(opens in a new tab)!

For the first time, and against the backdrop of Bolsonaro’s emboldened far-right regime, Brazil’s legendary and pioneering queer writers appear together in English translation.

This far-reaching, bilingual assortment of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and photography—erotic and personal, revolutionary, hopeful, joyous, and bitter—continues the legacy of defiant queer expression in Brazil and demands its prolific, unapologetic future.

In fresh and poetic prose, Raimundo Neto brings us lesser-known narratives of queer life in rural Brazil, including the story of a boy determined to become the “harvest bride” at a the local annual harvest dance. Poet Angélica Freitas details a disturbingly familiar world in which women are divided into rigid binaries—clean or dirty, good or bad—with stark language that builds into utter absurdity. And Caio Fernando Abreu sits in a hospital dying of AIDS, meeting with angels and writing letters in which he repeats “all I can do is write” like a mantra. Spanning four decades, and featuring a total of thirteen writers, Cuíer reminds us again, as Natalia Affonso says in her translation of Tatiana Nascimento’s poem:

…what we make
lying down is
also
revolution.

“A concise and enlightening overview of the last fifty years of LGBTQ literature from South America’s largest country. Spanning Brazil’s regional boundaries and including legends such as Ana Cristina Cesar, Caio Fernando Abreu, and Wilson Bueno, as well as newer voices such as Marcio Junqueira, Cristina Judar, and Angélica Freitas among many others, Cuíer is nothing less than divine!” —John Keene, author of Counternarratives

 

About the Calico Series

The Calico Series, published biannually by Two Lines Press, captures vanguard works of translated literature in stylish, collectible editions. Each Calico is a vibrant snapshot that explores one aspect of our present moment, offering the voices of previously inaccessible, highly innovative writers from around the world today.