The epic tradition at the time of “horizontal Lusophony”. Uma viagem à Índia of Gonçalo M. Tavares in confrontation with other Portuguese-speaking poetic voices

Abstract

The article presents the evolution of the concept of Lusophony, from its political formation in the last decade of the 20th century till the new reality observed by José Eduardo Agualusa. The first formulation implied, according to Alfredo Margarido, a return to the period of Maritime Discoveries; such a return effectively happened, on the symbolic level, with the ironic re-elaboration of the literary model given by Camões in Uma viagem à Índia by Gonçalo M. Tavares. The alleged “horizontal” dimension of the new Lusophony is debated through the confrontation of Tavares with the epic resonances of other poetical voices: Tony Tcheka, Conceição Lima, Filinto Elísio and Afonso Cruz. Following the theory of minor literature formulated by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, the author speaks of a “desertification” of the epic tradition that loses its glorious connotations. As a consequence of this process, the closed horizon of hegemonic literature opens up for new connectivities.