"O comunista sou eu": A poesia de Avelino Laurentino da Silva e as lutas dos trabalhares rurais (Paulista-PB 1975-1985).

Abstract

This work aims to formulate an understanding of how the poet andtrade unionist Avelino Laurentino da Silva, through his poetry he sought to createamong rural workers in the municipality of Paulista-PB, a class consciousness bringing together ideals of trade unionism with popular northeastern poetry known as cordel. To this end, we sought to develop research based on the analysis of poetic productions of the author Avelino and documents issued by him while he was in charge of presidency of the Rural Workers Union (STR) of Paulista-PB. This review occurs mainly from a Cultural History approach working on concepts such as cordel, poetry, popular culture and other related topics. When necessary, the Social History, seeking to understand how the work system worked in the backlands Paraíba in the final decades of the 20th century, especially the situation of farmers who they lived as “residents” or “sharecroppers” on large farms. In this way, from the observation and crossing of collected data, having as sources: Minutes and Official Letters of the mentioned institution, poems and others, it was possible to perceive that artistic productions of the poet in question with the documents made available by the STR of Paulista, allowed us to observe how the poet portrayed the situation of rural workers in his poems and also how these productions would have reached other spaces of repercussion in addition to his area of activity as a trade unionist and poet. Therefore, it was possible to conclude that art, in its different forms, can and should constitute itself as an instrument fighting for social causes.