The Bahian poet and journalist Myriam Fraga (1937-2016) will be the great honoree of this year’s edition of the Pelourinho International Literary Festival (Flipelô), the biggest literary event in Bahia. The party is scheduled for the period from August 5th to 9th in Pelourinho, the historic center of Salvador.
This year, Flipelô reaches its tenth edition. Inspired by the International Literary Festival of Paraty (Flip), Flipelô has been held since 2017, by the Fundação Casa de Jorge Amado, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The party, which was designed by the poet, arose with the aim of preserving and valuing the memory of the writer Jorge Amadothe culture and art of Bahia and also encourage literature, especially among young people.
Myriam Fraga is considered one of the greatest Brazilian writers and poets, having published 25 books and also maintained an intense collaboration in magazines and newspapers. She was responsible for the column Water Linepublished by the newspaper The afternoon between 1984 and 2004. She was also a member of the Academia de Letras da Bahia.
Her poetic production portrays social issues specific to the Northeast and brings representations of Bahia, but also seeks a construction of the feminine, giving new meaning to figures and themes from mythology.
The poet was also one of the great enthusiasts of the Casa de Jorge Amado Foundation, which she helped to found. Such commitment to creating the foundation led writers Jorge Amado and Zélia Gattai to invite Myriam to start managing the institution, which she did until the end of her life.
“I confess that at this moment [do convite para dirigir a fundação] I had a brief moment of panic. He worked intensely to make the project a reality. I honestly hoped to be able to continue working on it in some way, but suddenly being placed in charge seemed like a task for which I was possibly not prepared,” said the poet.
Currently the institution is chaired by Myriam’s daughter, Angela Fraga. “When participating in the International Literary Festival of Paraty (FLIP), in 2006, the year in which Jorge Amado was honored, she came back with an idea in her head, to transform Pelourinho into the stage for a great literary festival”, said Angela.
“Little by little this idea came to fruition and, in 2017, we were able to hold the first edition of Flipelô. Unfortunately, Myriam Fraga was unable to see her idea come to fruition. Now, in the tenth edition, we think it is more than fair to honor her”, he added.
Calasans Neto
In addition to the tribute to the poet, Flipelô will also celebrate the work of artist Calasans Neto, a great friend of Myriam Fraga. Painter, engraver, illustrator, draftsman, carver and set designer from Bahia, Calasans Neto has illustrated the works of Myriam Fraga since the publication of her first book, Navies (1964).
This friendship was even praised by Jorge Amado in his book Cabotage Navigation. “The duo is unbeatable, Calá was born to illustrate Myriam’s poetry, the poems and the monotypes are the same, visceral material.”
