INTERMEDIAL REFERENCES IN THE POETRY OF SEBASTIÃO UCHOA LEITE
Sebastião Uchoa Leite; Brazilian contemporary poetry; intermediality.
Among the most common characteristics of Sebastião Uchoa Leite's poetics is the dialogue established with other media. References to characters from movies and comic strips, as well as to painters and composers, populate his poems. At the same time, techniques and methods characteristic of cinema and newspapers are mimicked by the poet, who introduces cutting and editing processes in his writings, in addition to the typical form of writing used in newsrooms. The object of study of this work is this intermedia referential practice, its effects, and circumstances. Starting from notions of code and intertextuality found mainly in the writings of Julia Kristeva and Roland Barthes, and the ideas about intermediality of Irina Rajewsky and Peter Wagner, we analyze the effects that references to other languages have in poems. Always comparing the results with comments and opinions from critics and academic studies, we relate the intermediality in the poet's work with the traces of self-awareness and metatextuality, from which reflections arise both about poetry itself and the referenced media. An important point is how the interpretation process itself and expectations regarding media codes seem to be suggested by the poet. We also speculate on the reasons why a contemporary Brazilian poet chooses languages beyond poetry to develop his diction, such as the consideration of his place in the world and the poetic tradition.