Eruption of Insular Identities

The Eruption of Insular Identities explores themes common to the literatures of the Azores and Cape Verde, two isolated archipelagos in the former Portuguese empire but contemporaneously in the Portuguese-speaking world. In the 1930s, writers from both archipelagos initiated projects to explore açorianidade and caboverdianidade, firmly placing narratives within their respective regional spaces, a tradition that would be continued by following generations. Despite vast differences in the realities in the two archipelagos in terms of race and politics, the insularity lent itself to two bodies of literature with striking similarities. The author’s aim is to set out these similarities as a means to understanding the differences in rhetoric and treatment of this commonality. This book is the first extensive study comparing the literatures of the two archipelagos. Cape Verdean writer Germano Almeida won the Prémio Camões in 2018, one of the most prestigious awards for Portuguese-language authors; his work is explored extensively in the volume. The Eruption of Insular Identities provides a perspective on Cape Verdean literature that brings to the fore the nation’s social reality and literary production—its individual insularity—which distances it from most of the other Lusophone African nations, and provides an in-depth comparison to the second region under study, the Azores.

Eruptia identitatilor insulare exploreaza teme comune literaturilor din Azore si Capul Verde, doua arhipelaguri izolate din fostul imperiu portughez, dar contemporan in lumea vorbitoare de portugheza. In anii 1930, scriitorii din ambele arhipelaguri au initiat proiecte de explorare a açorianidade si caboverdianidade, plasand ferm naratiuni in spatiile lor regionale respective, o traditie care ar fi continuata de generatiile urmatoare.