From the Rebel Years of Pop Literature to the Magical Realism of Roberto Drummond.

ROBERTO Drummond (1939-2002) is a Brazilian writer from the state of Minas Gerais, which is the biggest state in the southeastern region of the country, birthplace of important authors of Brazilian literature, such as Guimaraes Rosa and Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Drummond is part of a generation of writers that participated in the short story "boom" of the seventies in Brazil. As stated by Alfredo Bosi, he was part of this creative group, along with authors such as Sergio Sant'anna and Sonia Coutinho. It is within this context that he began his publishing career in 1975, with his prize-winning collection of short stories A morte de D. J. em Paris. This book was awarded the "Premio Jabuti" in the category for new authors and some of his short stories received awards in the "Concurso de Contos do Parana" (Parana's State Short Stories Award). In the following years, Drummond published O dia em que Ernest Hemingway morreu crucificado (1978), Sangue de Coca-Cola (1980), Quando fui morto em Cuba (1981), Hitler manda lembrancas (1984), Ontem a noite era 6a. feira (1988), Hilda Furacao (1991), Ines e morta (1993), O homem que subornou a morte (1999), O cheiro de Deus (2001). Since his first publication, Drummond has been an active author and journalist. His book O homem que subornou a morte (1999) is a collection of "cronicas." He also wrote about sports for a major newspaper in Minas Gerais. After his untimely death in 2002, three books were published: Os mortos nao dancam valsa (2002), Dia de Sao Nunca a Tarde (2004) and Roberto Drummond (2005) (collection of cronicas). In this study, I will analyze O cheiro de Deus to show how Drummond evolved from the pop literature, developing a more traditional style. Drummond's work deals with the fragile line between fiction and reality. Therefore, he plays with history and literature, using real figures as characters, "fictionizing" reality. During the dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1984), reality had to be disguised in order to escape governmental censorship. For Drummond, this need to disguise was also an element of what he classified as "literatura pop." As a new form of literature, pop literature makes extensive use of icons from popular culture and incorporates narrative styles derived from cartoons. The author explained that the popular entered his books as signs of contemporaneity. According to Stuart Hall, the pop is a way to construct reality when the author has the reader as an accomplice once they share the same knowledge about the pop elements. (In Brazil, it is a way of criticizing society. Drummond also points out foreign influence in the country, especially during the Military Dictatorship.) Idelber Avelar explains that the incorporation on the pop element