Brazilian Woodcut Prints

This is the first book in English devoted to the woodcuts that illustrate that Brazilian literatura de cordel. This "string literature," the inexpensive pamphlets often displayed on thin cords hung between posts, is the work of the virtuosos popular poet of the backlands of Northeast Brazil. The passionate narratives are by turn realistic and fantastic, comic and tragic, and reflect the realities and the dreams of the Brazilian poor. Published all over Brazil, these stark woodcuts have all the power, quickness, and wit of great popular art.