Begründer der brasilianischen Konkreten Poesie gestorben

Haroldo de Campos, who transformed words into whimsical diagrams and subtle critiques of formal poetry as a founder of the 1950’s Concrete poetry movement in Brazil, died Aug. 16 in São Paulo. He was 73. …

The Concretists arrived on the international literary scene as Brazil, imbued with the modernism that also resulted in the completion of the planned capital Brasília in 1960, flirted with different artistic forms.

With his brother, Augusto, and with Décio Pignatari, Mr. de Campos formed a group that sought to create a new form of expression by removing stereotypical traces of Brazilian culture from their work.

One result was a cosmopolitan body of writing that reflected the pragmatic, gritty industrialism of São Paulo and that drew visual inspiration from European artists like Mondrian and Brancusi.

The Cuban writer Severo Sarduy called Mr. de Campos the „Pound-like patriarch“ of the Concrete poets, in reference to the poet Ezra Pound. / Aus dem Nachruf der NYT*), 25.8.03

Texte im Ubuweb
Nachruf von Umberto Eco, L´Espresso

(Italienisch. Interessiert sich jemand in Deutschland? Eco nennt zwei weitere tote Hunde: Max Bense und … Goethe. Und lobt de Campos´ Danteübersetzung. Hier eine Zeile im Vergleich (Paradies XXXI, 1) – Man müßte es natürlich hören – Eco betont es [könnte es einer für mich portugiesisch sprechen?]:

In forma dunque di candida rosa

(Original)

A forma assim de uma cândida rosa

(de Campos, portug.)

In fashion then as of a snow-white rose

(Longfellow)

In form then of a pure white rose [the holy host was shown to me]

(Prosa von Charles Eliot Norton)

In der Gestalt dann einer weißen Rose

(Wilhelm G. Hertz)

Als weiße Rose sah ich so die Scharen

(Paul Pochhammer)