Eakin and Santiago - contributions to life writing scholarship

Abstract

During the last year in Brazil, freedom of expression, education, academic research, and artistic manifestations have been under attack by the current populist right- wing government. Choosing a relevant topic for this review proved to be an ardu-ous task. With drastic cuts of funding for arts and research, the year went by with few notable works in life writing and with little hope for the future. However, a magical chance alignment contributed to the fortunes of auto/biographical studies in Brazil: the memoirs of the “grand dame” of Brazilian theater, cinema, and performing arts, the actress Fernanda Montenegro, emerged alongside the works of two leading exponents of literary studies. The writer, literary critic, essayist, and scholar Silviano Santiago published his long-awaited memoirs, and for the first time a book by Paul John Eakin, a staple name in the field of autobiographical criticism, appeared in a Portuguese translation.