Conceição Evaristo

Maria da Conceição Evaristo de Brito is an important name in contemporary Brazilian literature. Linguist, writer, and doctor in literature, she writes about the experience of the Afro-Brazilian people, mainly issues related to racial discrimination, ancestry, and violence. She creates a portrait of black women in Brazilian society.

Born on December 29, 1946 in a poor community in the city of Belo Horizonte, in Brazil. She combined her studies with her job as a domestic worker until 1971. She moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1973, to work as a government teacher in early childhood education.

She started her academic journey pursuing a Language degree at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) in the late 1980s. A PhD in Literature with a productive career as a researcher, she was a professor at several national and international universities.

Together with Grupo Quilombhoje, she debuted with some works in the Cadernos Negros series in 1990. Her first novel was Ponciá Vicêncio, in 2003, which was also the first one to be translated (into English in 2017). She coined the term “escrivência” to define her work as a writing based on the ethnic and gender experience in the world through a collective self. Her books gained notoriety inside and outside Brazil, becoming an important and studied voice of black literature and the African diaspora in the Americas.

In 2023, she opened the Casa Escrevivência, a cultural project where her book collection is available for consultation, as well as a museum with her works, awards and honorable mentions. The cultural center is located in a symbolic region called Little Africa, in Rio de Janeiro.

Instagram: @conceicaoevaristooficial