The Azorean Correspondence of João dos Reis Gomes

Abstract

The epistolography of João dos Reis Gomes is not a well-known production. In the Biblioteca Pública e Arquivo Regional de Ponta Delgada, we find some letters that, in one way or another, convey a different aspect of João dos Reis Gomes, in which we can assume the content of conversations held with groups of friends. Even though we cannot affirm that the perspective of an author of a letter fully corresponds to what is written. Of particular interest are the letters exchanged with the Azoreans Teófilo Braga, Manuel Monteiro Velho Arruda and José Bruno Tavares Carreiro. Within the scope of the islands’ admiration, culture and history and literary criticism, these letters leave a legacy that we can consider informal but, at the same time, of friendship and esteem.

Keywords

João dos Reis Gomes; Epistolography; Azores.