In 1956, the illustrious literary critic Valdemar Cavalcanti received a letter of complaint from the family of the writer Coelho Netto.
- Critical letter from the three sons of author Coelho Netto to literary critic Valdemar Cavalcanti.
- One page.
- In Portuguese.
- 22 cm x 32.7 cm.
- Rio de Janeiro, June 3, 1956.
- Restored document, in good condition of conservation.
- Unique piece.
Valdemar Cavalcanti (1912 - 1982) was an award-winning writer, a pioneer of journalism in Brazil and literary criticism, working for decades as a columnist for Assis Chateaubriand's 'O Jornal'. Coelho Netto (1864 - 1934) was part of the old guard and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, recognized for his talent but considerably opposed by the modernists.
Tribuna da Imprensa is an important Brazilian newspaper founded in 1949: it was in it that, in 1954, Lacerda published the text suggesting that the military demand the resignation of President Getúlio Vargas, creating the scandal that would lead him to commit suicide.
Rafael Cavalcanti, journalist and grandson of Valdemar Cavalcanti, comments on this old letter:
(...) my grandfather worked as a literary critic for many years, during a very intense and productive cultural period. He wrote decades of articles and chronicles. To give you an idea, his library had more than 80 thousand copies, many of which were analyzed by him. Therefore, what I can say is that he did not always please the author in his criticisms.
After all, impartiality is one of the main requirements of journalistic activity. As I am also a journalist, it is also worth mentioning that we are not always so precise when we write: we think one thing and sometimes we write another. Or even: the information is not properly understood by the recipient, which I consider to be a failure on our part, the writer. Or sometimes we just make mistakes. It is part of the journalist's job, in the case of those who write the review, and of those who write as well, including authors of books (...).
We have here a surprising letter, testimony to the relationships - sometimes complicated - between authors and journalists.
