Description
Book SynopsisPublished in 1972,
New Portuguese Letters addressed censored issues – such as the colonial war, immigration, the Catholic Church, violence, and the legal and social status of women – becoming a symbol of resistance against the Fascist Portuguese regime. Privileging feminist approaches, this volume maps the reception of the book in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, the UK, Ireland, the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia. The scandal that surrounded the banning of
New Portuguese Letters, under the accusation of ‘pornographic content’, and the trial of the three authors for ‘outraging public morals’, brought the case to the attention of the international community. The book found instant support from feminist movements and well-known writers – such as Simone de Beauvoir, Marguerite Duras, Doris Lessing, Iris Murdoch, Adrienne Rich and Anne Sexton – and was adopted as «the first international feminist cause».
Given its great significance in political and aesthetic terms,
New Portuguese Letters was – and remains – a fundamental work in contemporary literature and culture, offering an invaluable contribution to the history of women and raising crucial issues relevant for political agendas today, such as equality, justice and freedom.
Table of ContentsContents: Ana Luísa Amaral/Marinela Freitas: About «the three of us exposed to public view»: The Portuguese Response to
New Portuguese Letters – Ana Margarida Dias Martins/Hilary Owen: Introduction to the Reception of
New Portuguese Letters: Ireland and United Kingdom – Adília Martins de Carvalho/Agnès Levécot/Catherine Dumas/Inês Lima/Sarah Carmo:
New Portuguese Letters in France: The Paradoxes of a Troubled Reception – Anna M. Klobucka:
New Portuguese Letters in the United States – Chatarina Edfeldt: Transnational Sisterhood and
New Portuguese Letters: Politics and Critical Reception in Sweden – Elena Losada Soler/Sónia Rita Melo/Cristina Guarro:
New Portuguese Letters in Spain: An Eloquent Silence – Livia Apa/Roberto Vecchi: The Powerful Urgency to Reread
New Portuguese Letters in Italy – Teresa Pinheiro/Anne-Kathrin Gläser/Sara Anna Burmeister: The Three Marias «Have Broken out of the Cloister»: The Reception of
New Portuguese Letters in German-Speaking Countries.
