Literary Journalism: reality on an authorial and humanized basis

Abstract

Literary journalism is a borderline gender that aims the production of creative writings based both on literary and journalistic techniques. The movement became worldwide known back in the 1960´s due to the innovative work of North American reporters such as Gay Talese, Truman Capote, and Norman Mailer. However, its roots are much older, going as deep as the 17th century European writer Daniel Defoe (1660-1731). In Brazil, the form can be retraced to the journalists Euclides da Cunha (1866-1909) and João do Rio (1881-1921), Paulo Barreto´s fictitious name. Realidade magazine and Jornal da Tarde are still media references, but new publications, specially Brasileiros and Piauí magazines, besides websites and non-fiction books, are helping to develop the genre.