AUTHOR ROSALIENE BACCHUS


Reaching minds and hearts through storytelling



POEM "CITY FORESEEN" BY BRAZILIAN POET CARLOS DRUMMOND DE ANDRADE



CARLOS DRUMMOND DE ANDRADE (1902-1987) – poet, journalist, and literary critic – was born in Itabira, in the Southeast Brazil state of Minas Gerais. Occupying a prominent place in Brazilian literature, he is considered one of the country's most influential poets of the twentieth century. He has left an extensive body of work of intellectual relevance and human value.


Drummond began his writing career in 1921 as a columnist for the Diário de Minas newspaper. After receiving his degree in pharmacy (1925) – a profession he never practiced – he co-founded the literary journal, A Revista, and became involved in the Brazilian Modernist movement. In 1930, he published his first poetry collection, Alguma Poesia / Some Poetry.


After entering the public service in 1934, he was transferred to Rio de Janeiro where he worked in the Ministry of Education & Public Health until 1945. He then worked at the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Service of Brazil until his retirement in 1962.


During his lifetime, Drummond published over thirty collections of poetry and more than a half dozen collections of his literary critique essays. His ironic treatment of realistic themes reflected his concern with the plight of modern man and the Brazilian's struggle for freedom and dignity.


Drummond died in Rio de Janeiro on August 17, 1987, ten days after the death of his only daughter.


A Biography is available at Templo Cultural Delfos


Photo Credit: Brazilian National Archives, 1970 (Wikipedia)




EXCERPT OF POEM "CITY FORESEEN" BY CARLOS DRUMMOND DE ANDRADE



Brothers, sing of this world

that I will not see, but will come

one day, within a thousand years,

perhaps more... I am in no hurry.

A world finally in good order,

a homeland without borders,

without laws and regulations,

a land without flags,

without churches or barracks,

without pain, without fever, without gold,

a single way of living,

but in that way the variety,

all the multiplicity

that exists within each one.

A city without doors,

of houses without traps,

a country of laughter and splendor

like none that has ever existed.

This country is not mine

nor yours yet, poets.

But it will one day be

the country of every man.




TRANSLATION BY ROSALIENE BACCHUS



TRECHO DO POEMA "CIDADE PREVISTA" POR CARLOS DRUMMOND DE ANDRADE



Irmãos, cantai esse mundo

que não verei, mas virá

um dia, dentro em mil anos,

talvez mais... não tenho pressa.

Um mundo enfim ordenado,

uma pátria sem fronteiras,

sem leis e regulamentos,

uma terra sem bandeiras,

sem igrejas nem quartéis,

sem dor, sem febre, sem ouro,

um jeito só de viver,

mas nesse jeito a variedade,

a multiplicidade toda

que há dentro de cada um.

Uma cidade sem portas,

de casas sem armadilha,

um país de riso e glória

como nunca houve nenhum.

Este país não é meu

nem vosso ainda, poetas.

Mas ele será um dia

o país de todo homem.


SOURCE: Poetry Collection Cidade Prevista / City Foreseen by Carlos Drummond de Andrade, published in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1945.