The symbolization of sites of memory in Naquela Noite, a short story by the guinean writer Odete Semedo

Abstract

The present work approaches the way Odete Semedo, in her literary text and specifically in the short story Naquela Noite, uses strategies which can be considered as a possible symbolization of “sites of memory”. Such strategies reinforce resistance mechanisms and indicate ways of survival to go through difficult periods in the troubled space of Guinea-Bissau.  The discussion that is now underway intends to endorse part of the thought of Amílcar Cabral, the most expressive revolutionary leader on the Guinean ground, in which the greater meaning of his people’s struggle for independence is clarified. Cabral’s lucid perception seems to be the same that can be seen in the work carried out by Semedo when he enacts, in his literary project, possibilities for the Guinean people to assume, even with great difficulties, the direction of their destiny. The strategies assumed by the writer configure a literary project of a politicized nature. This work, fueled by these reflections, can verticalize the discussion by focusing on the symbolization of “sites of memory” in Semedo’s text, emphasizing, in the enunciation of it, its performativity as a beacon of resistance and an input for survival to overcome the harshness of current times of Guinea-Bissau. In Naquela Noite, Semedo’s dexterity is proven by her skill of handling the concomitance of divergent times and spaces, as well as the remains of traditions threatened with extinction due to the acceleration of history.

(Image Recanto do Poeta)