Orientalism and the Aesthetics of Desire in “Alkamar A Minha Amante” by Jamil Almansur Haddad

Abstract

This study examines the recent scholarly rediscovery of Jamil Almansur Haddad (1914–1988) as a significant figure in Brazilian literature. The son of Lebanese immigrants, Haddad was a poet, essayist, and translator whose work is characterized by a synthesis of Eastern and Brazilian cultural elements. In Alkamar, a Minha Amante (1935), the author engages with Orientalism, employing imagotypes imbued with exoticisms traditionally associated with Arab culture. His proximity to the decadent aesthetic that dominated early twentieth-century European literature — epitomized, in particular, by the Italian writer Gabriele D’Annunzio — suggests a deliberate emulation of European literary models by the young Brazilian author.