Between “Some” and “Others”. Reflections on the Poetry of Hélder Faife

Abstract

Focusing on Poemas em sacos vazios que ficam de pé, by Hélder Faife, this article aims to reflect on the relationship between poetry and literary institutionalization in Mozambique. After some considerations on the positions in the literary field, we will observe how the author, in his first book, proposes a kind of intersection between language and society: based on small prosodic variations (that give an organic musicality to the verses) and morphosyntactic displacements (that suggest the general movement between the protagonists), Faife presents some of the major contradictions in the Mozambican urban space. Keywords: Hélder Faife, Mozambique, poetry, literary field.