Cordel literature

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Example of naïf wood engraving used to illustrate the cover of a cordel booklet

Cordel literature (Portuguese for "string literature") are popular and inexpensively printed booklets pamphlets containing folk novels, poems and songs, which are produced and sold in fairs and by sidestreet vendors in the northeast of Brazil. They are so named because they are hung from strings in order to display them to potential clients. They form one of the least altered continuations of the Western traditions of popular literature, such as chapbooks, and popular prints.

They are usually produced in black and white, in quarto format, and are illustrated with woodcuts. They come from the papel volante tradition of Portugal. The cordel literature found its zenith in the decades of 20s and 30s, with the popular legend created by the cangaceiros of Lampião, a band of outlaws and bandolier bandits who terrorized the region for almost 20 years. The War of Canudos, a military conflict in the state of Bahia, 1896-1897, has been also a frequent theme of cordel literature, due to its epic dimensions and importance for the history of the Northeast backlands.

There are a lot of not-well-known cordel authors in Brazil. Two expressive woodcutters are Adir Botelho and Jose Francisco Borges, whose woodcuts have been exhibited in the Louvre and the Smithsonian.

Cordel Literature can still be found in the Northeastern states, most notably in Pernambuco, Paraiba and Ceara.