This work is in a lineage of Brazilian concrete poetry. The de Campos brothers who put Brazilian concrete poetry on the map did so by recirculating a modernist poetic idea of “Antropofagia,” or cultural cannibalism. Brazilian artist Yhuri Cruz calls his work “Pretofagia” or “Blackphagy,” both drawing on and critiquing that poetic lineage. The following excerpt hails from Jongo & Adriano, also called a fotonovela by the artist, featuring two Black lovers who escape enslavement, one African-born and the other a Brazilian criollo. “Whatever resemblance these characters bare to historical fact might not be a coincidence,” Cruz tells us.

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Yhuri Cruz

Yhuri Cruz is a writer and visual artist, born in Olaria, Rio de Janeiro to an African-Brazilian family. His work maps an intersection between his family's ethical and aesthetic heritage across many mediums: stone sculptures, drawings, interactive objects, theater, operas, lecture-performances, photography, and film. Cruz holds a degree in Political Science (UNIRIO) and a postgraduate degree in Cultural Journalism (UERJ).

Montana Ray

Montana Ray holds an MFA in poetry and translation and a PhD in comparative literature from Columbia University. Ray translates from Spanish and Portuguese, especially feminist, fat, queer, Black, and Southern texts. She also explores connections between the US South and Latin America through her scholarship, public nonfiction, visual poetry, and photography. Before joining NYU’s faculty as Clinical Assistant Professor, she taught writing at Columbia University.