“A POLITICIAN IN THE WORLD OF LETTERS”. LITERATURE AND POLITICS IN ÁLVARO LINS’ TRAJECTORY

Abstract

This paper explores some dimensions of Álvaro Lins’ double insertion in social spheres, marked at times by principles proper to the intellectual / literary circuits, and at other times by political interests. Considering that Lins was a man of letters acting at a time when the distinctions between the literary and social spheres were still blurred, this article focuses on certain moments in Lins’ professional trajectory that show how this dual perspective defines his literary critic practice. In this regard, some emphasis is given to the period his work circulated in Portugal – starting in the 1940s, with special attention to the 1950s.