Writer and literary critic Heloísa Buarque de Hollanda will run for the post at the Brazilian Academy of Letters made vacant by the death of Nélida Piñon last month.
However, the process is not instantaneous. Although the author was veiled at the Academy last week, the homage to the Saudade session, which effectively makes Piñon’s chair available to new candidates, will not take place for another two months, on March 2nd.
Only then can applicants to the Academy express their interest in admission to the institution in writing within a period of up to 30 days.
Buarque de Hollanda confirms via SMS that he wants to run for office. She would replace one of the fiercest female voices in an institution still dominated by white men — Piñon was the first female President in House history, taking office in 1997.
If elected, the 83yearold researcher from Rio de Janeiro would only be the tenth woman to become an immortal in the more than 125year history of the Brazilian Academy of Literature.
In addition to being one of the most important formulators and compilers of Brazilian feminist thought, Buarque de Hollanda was also responsible for the historical collection “26 Poetas Hoje” in the 1970s, which helped bring to the fore some of the most important authors of her generation. like Ana Cristina Cesar, Cacaso and Jackal.
The book received a kind of update two years ago with the volume “As 29 Poets Today”, which exclusively illuminated the work of female authors.