Esquina Editora: commercial project, political project and literature (1978-1981)

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the editorial performance of Esquina Editora between 1978 and 1981, as well as its political, ideological and economic challenges. Until now, researchers have focused on the work of the newspaper Lampião da Esquina, one of the main publications of the publisher, but there is a lack of studies on the other projects of the company, responsible for the launch of books on homosexuality/ sexual themes. In the methodology, we gathered research on documents produced by the National Information Service (SNI), the hemerographic collection of Grupo Dignidade and interviews we conducted with the writer Aguinaldo Silva, the graphic editor Antonio Carlos Moreira and the writer Nívio Ramos Sales. In a period when the dictatorial political regime censored and encouraged forms of control of the “deviant”, we understand that Esquina Editora made it possible for homosexuals to see themselves represented in literature, standing out as the first publisher in the country to defend an editorial line that privileged exclusively the theme.