Academies of letters and female writers: barriers and changes in the 20th century and the case of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

In this work, after a brief history of women in academies, of letters in Brazil and abroad, we discuss the late entry of female writers into these spaces of legitimation and consecration, especially since the second half of the 20th century. The discussion focuses on the centenary and prestigious Academia Mineira de Letras, at Minas Gerais, Brazil, an institution that safeguards the documents examined and highlighted used as archives in this article. The researched collection is that of the AML, in Belo Horizonte, in particular the speeches of inauguration and reception of writers who have chairs there (in this academy). Some important elements of the profiles of these writers are highlighted, as well as discursive aspects of the records of these historical characters, in particular the words of the writer Eduardo Frieiro in reception of the female writer Maria José de Queiroz, in 1973.