As faces de um intelectual: trajetórias e narrativas de Átila Almeida (1974- 1991).

Abstract

This work discusses the role of the bibliophile, folklorist, teacher, and writer from Paraíba, Átila Almeida (1923-1991), focusing on the most prolific period of his work between the 1970s and 1980s. During this period, Átila Almeida concentrated his efforts on book collecting and also invested in folklore studies, directly funding research on popular culture, with his main collaborator being the poet José Alves Sobrinho (1921-2011). Concurrently, Átila Almeida began publishing short stories in magazines and later in books. Following his death in 1991, his collection was acquired by the State University of Paraíba (UEPB) and institutionalized in the Átila Almeida Rare Books Library. In this regard, this study aims to discuss, within the historiographical framework, his trajectories by examining the main intellectual and social relationships that led to these productions. The work approaches the perspective of Michel de Certeau, as presented in his work The Writing of History (1982), seeking to examine the social position, practices, and written production of the writer. To situate the intellectual's role, we resort to Pierre Bourdieu's concept of the intellectual field (1996), as well as the contributions of Jean François Sirinelli (2003) on the category of intellectuals, and Angela de Castro Gomes and Patrícia Hansen (2016) on Mediator Intellectuals to analyze the relationship between the researcher and the poet José Alves Sobrinho in the context of folklore studies. The research utilized oral and documentary sources, including interviews conducted with Oriana Trindade, internet interviews with Ruth Trindade de Almeida, as well as correspondence, periodicals, and photographs related to our study, as well as the works written by Átila Almeida, specifically his short story collections and the books co-authored with José Alves Sobrinho. Thus, the work attempts to foster a discussion about Átila Almeida's intellectual engagement as it explores the mentioned concepts.