Calligraphic Body, Voice: The Performance Writings of Manoel Ricardo de Lima and Sérgio Medeiros

Abstract This article deals with the works of two contemporary Brazilian writers, Manoel Ricardo de Lima and Sérgio Medeiros, seeking to define, through the analysis of their work, what today may be called a “performatic” trace in contemporary literature. The main characteristics of these performatic writings would include the presence of the body in writing, together with the intermingling and indistinction of artistic genres. Paul Zumthor’s concept of “performance” followed by readings of Artaud, Beckett and Hans-Thies Lehman are used to think through Lima and Medeiros’ work in light of a “performatic literature.”