The modernist writer Jorge de Lima (1895–1953) uses repetition, rhyme, and words with African roots to create an extremely musical poem. His verses convey the intimacy, abuse of power, and sensuality that were typical of the relationship between black slaves and their white masters during the Portuguese-Brazilian colonial period. Slavery in Brazil lasted until the late nineteenth century (1888). The beauty and seductive appeal of the black girl, Fulô (a common alternative to “Flor” [Flower]) illustrate the dichotomy between being simultaneously exploited and admired. In Brazil, African culture and the social position of black people were fraught subjects that were never openly discussed until modernist works began to address them in the 1920s, shining a critical light on a key element of Brazilian cultural identity. “Essa negra Fulô,” published in 1928, was the first in a series of works by de Lima that came to be known as “black poems.” Other great examples of the genre also appeared at the time, such as: Macunaíma: o herói sem nenhum caráter (1928) by Mário de Andrade and Urucungo: poemas negros by Raul Bopp. These fine literary works enjoyed pride of place in Brazilian culture, and had a considerable influence on the outstanding contributions made by the painters Lasar Segall and Emiliano di Cavalcanti.
[See these other ‘black poems’ in the ICAA digital archive: by Jorge de Lima, “Poemas negros” (doc. no. 1110581), and by Jorge de Lima et al., “Mangue” (doc. no. 1110480); by Ruben Navarra, “Lasar Segall e os poemas negros” (doc. no. 1110579); by Geraldo Ferraz, “Pogrom de Lasar Segall” (doc. no. 1110672); and by Raul Bopp, “Urucungo: poemas negros (doc. no. 1110481)].