The testimonial essence of slavery's remnants in Lobivar Matos' poetry

Abstract

This article examines the poetry of the intellectual Lobivar Matos as a framework of testimonial theory, highlighting how his works Areôtorare: poemas boróros (1935) and Sarobá: poemas (1936) bear witness to lived narratives in the city of Corumbá during the 1930s, prior to the partition of the state of Mato Grosso. Focusing on the Corumbaense poet, the study emphasizes his writing as both literature and cultural memory of the state, evident in each verse that deconstructs the pains underlying his poetics. The work also addresses local histories of Black neighborhoods and forms of labor analogous to slavery, often overlooked by global narratives but given voice in Lobivar Matos’s poems. The analysis of his testimony is situated within contexts of extreme poverty, pain, suffering, and marginalization in Corumbá’s peripheral neighborhoods, underscoring the significance of his poetic expression. The research considers diverse ideological and epistemological influences, reflecting on the history of colonization and its social and territorial impacts. The discussion is structured into three main topics, exploring space, temporality, lived experience, and the poet’s productions in the 1930s, drawing on theoretical contributions from Márcio Seligmann-Silva (2010) and Paul Ricoeur (2007).