The intense word

The intense word brings together, for the first time, chronicles by Carlos Drummond de Andrade originally published in the old Rio de Janeiro newspaper Correio da Manhã , between 1954 and 1969. This work offers a deep immersion into Drummond's daily and poetic life and the political history of Brazil, revealing the singular perception of one of the greatest poets, chroniclers and short story writers in Brazilian literature.

The Intense Word is a previously unpublished collection of 150 chronicles by poet, columnist, and short story writer Carlos Drummond de Andrade, never before published in book form. These texts, published between 1954 and 1969 in the pages of Correio da Manhã— a former Rio de Janeiro newspaper that was persecuted and shut down on several occasions during the military dictatorship—remained in the author's vast personal archive for nearly three-quarters of a century.

Edited by fellow chronicler Luís Henrique Pellanda, the work serves as a lens that broadens our understanding of time and everyday life, reflecting Drummond's vision of the 20th century. Pellanda observes, in the edition's introductory text, that the chronicler is, in essence, "a courtier of coincidences," and that, although the period in which they were written is clearly marked in the chronicles, Drummond, even from a distance in time, manages to capture and convey universal and still current problems and experiences, connecting with readers who "are always seeking some confluence between what they read and what they experience in their daily lives. And it is precisely in this fertile and shifting terrain, where coincidences multiply with the passing of the decades and the evolving mindset of increasingly diverse readers, that a chronicle written in Brazil seventy years ago can take on new meanings."

The intense word: unpublished chronicles from Correio da Manhã, 1954-1969 thus arrives at a good time for admirers of Drummond's works and for those passionate about this literary genre which, as the author himself describes in one of his best-known chronicles – "Fala, Amendoeira" (1954) – is a "craft of scribbling about the things of time." And there is no better way to explore the nuances of life and time than through the writings of one of the greatest names in Brazilian literature.

"That Carlos Drummond de Andrade is one of the greatest poets in the Portuguese language is beyond doubt. That he also ranks among its greatest chroniclers seems indisputable [...]. Therefore, it is always a cause for joy when we come across unpublished texts in book form that remained forgotten in archives accessible only to researchers, and which bring us the author in the freshness of his daily task as a 'courter of coincidences,' in the apt description given by the compiler of this A intenso palavra , the also excellent chronicler, Luís Henrique Pellanda." – Luiz Ruffato, for the blurb of A intenso palavra .