What explains the decline of the Brazilian Academy of Letters

Fernanda Montenegro’s seat once belonged to Antonio Houaiss. Merval Pereira’s, Moacyr Scliar’s. Gilberto Gil’s, Emílio de Meneses’. Paulo Coelho’s, Dias Gomes’. It is as if, with each succession, the Brazilian Academy of Letters left literary quality behind.

It is worth noting that, in article 1 of its statute, the Academy declares its principle: “The Brazilian Academy of Letters, based in Rio de Janeiro, has as its aim the culture of national language and literature”. The document was signed on January 28, 1897 by, among others, Machado de Assis, the president, and Joaquim Nabuco, the general secretary.

More than 120 years later, the ABL is the target of questions from various sectors. Some of them, linked to identity movements, demand an even greater participation of authors different from those profiled in the literary canon – white, heterosexual men from the southeast. Even with several women authors, as well as people from the Northeast, already occupying the illustrious chairs.

On the other hand, we have criticism from sectors that, in the public debate, are linked to so-called “conservative” groups. They say that academia has discredited literature in favor of other cultural manifestations. Gilberto Gil, musician, occupies chair number 20 and Fernanda Montenegro, actress, occupies chair number 17. Total adherence to the Orthographic Agreement and submission to identity guidelines also displeased many people. In the “New Words” section of the website, only those that suit the taste of those who see words as a form of social struggle appear: “anti-racism”, “ableism”, ageism” and “racial literacy”.

Criticisms from both sides actually reveal a fundamental issue: the decadence of the institution. The ABL stopped being a relevant institution a long time ago and is far from fulfilling what it promised in article 1: “its aim is the culture of national language and literature”. If he ever did.

Why do we have an ABL?

In a Brazil with a strong French influence, a group of writers decided to create an Academy of Letters, along the lines of the French Academy, founded in 1635, during the reign of Louis XIII. The long-lived French institution, as here, is also today the target of controversies, such as the inauguration of Mario Vargas LLosa, who does not even write in French.

Even at its inception, it is difficult to claim that the ABL was influential. Diogo Fontana, founder and editor-in-chief of Editora Danúbio, writer, states that “ABL never served much purpose. It has always been a space for tribute and recognition for work. As a development instrument, it has never had so much strength.”

Alexandre Sugamosto, PhD student in Religious Sciences at PUC/MG, Specialist in Portuguese Language Teaching Methodology and writer, points out differences between the initial period and the current one: “At the end of the 19th century, there was a more robust literary movement, aiming to place Brazil on the map of world literature, even if with a regional guise”.

Inevitable decay

Samo Burja, a Slovenian political scientist, is a student of institutions and analyzes how they flourish, endure and eventually die. The first sentence on his personal website, posted here, even sounds provocative: “An immortal society never existed”.

According to the author, institutions, whether the ABL or the Federal Supreme Court, are a type of social technology. In other words, they are means that men have to achieve a certain objective. And its process of decline occurs mainly due to three reasons: succession, transmission of knowledge and corruption of bureaucracies.

Alexandre Sugamosto recognizes the quality of some authors who today make up the ABL, such as Marco Lucchesi, Zuenir Ventura, Antonio Cícero and Ruy Castro, but identifies the succession problem. “This is the biggest problem, actually. This generation is interesting. But who could be Ruy Castro’s successor?”, he asks.

ABL also does not talk to any readership. The videos on his YouTube channel generally do not exceed 500 views, even with interesting content such as “Luís de Camões – 500 anos”. “The current composition of the ABL reflects the decomposition of reading. Our academic production does not speak to the world. The ABL crisis is a symptom of this”, says Diogo Fontana.

The absence of clearer criteria for occupying one of its seats is reckless. “When there are cultural personalities, space opens up for politicking”, says Diogo Fontana. These “personalities” are those with obvious prestige in society, who move well in its corridors, not bothering anyone.

Down hill

The last person elected to the Brazilian Academy of Letters was Lilia Schwarcz. The anthropologist and historian is aligned with the agendas traditionally defended by the left. Schwarcz currently occupies chair number 9, previously occupied by Alberto da Costa e Silva, diplomat, poet and historian, winner of the Camões Prize in 2014.

Regarding prospects for change, Diogo Fontana laments: “ABL will only improve if literature is reborn, with great writers, candidates for membership. There is no living literary genius, neither within nor without.” Alexandre Sugamosto says that the outlook will get worse: “We are not really seeing decline, we will actually see it in about 10 years. This is just the beginning of this degradation.”

The official website has an obsolete design and navigation is difficult. It seems purposely made to keep any “mortal” away from there. But if a more persistent mortal insists, he can find an articles section and read one by the occupant of chair no. 31, Merval Pereira. The topic hardly speaks to the principle of article 1: the Robinho case. It’s hard to believe that, with so much interest in the transitory, the Academy’s immortality will last so long.