The library of the poet Murilo Mendes, donated to the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in 1976 by his widow, Maria da Saudade Cortesão Mendes, consists of 2,886 titles and 3,008 volumes that deal with literature, religion, art, history, philosophy, among others.
Initially located in the Documentation and Cultural Diffusion Center of UFJF, the library was moved in 1994 to the Murilo Mendes’ Study Center, and was later transferred to the Murilo Mendes Art Museum in 2005, composing the Library and Information Sector.
Other bibliographic collections (João Guimarães Vieira [Guima], Arthur Arcuri, Gilberto and Cosette de Alencar, Dormevilly Nóbrega, Cleonice Rainho) also integrate the sector as part of a project to preserve the literary and cultural memory of Juiz de Fora.
This library is made up of items related to the life and work of Murilo Mendes, such as various editions of the poet’s books, and critical essays, dissertations, theses, videos, audios, articles and chronicles about the writer. It also houses contemporary art topics concerning events and projects under development within the framework of the institution’s museological actions.
Gilberto de Alencar was born in João Gomes, Minas Gerais in 1886. He settled in Juiz de Fora, where he worked as a journalist and director of the Municipality Education Department. Member of the Academy of Letters of Minas Gerais, he was one of the state’s greatest writers of his time, and died in 1961. His daughter, Cosette de Alencar, was a writer and translator born in Juiz de Fora, in 1918. She collaborated with several newspapers, among them the Mercantile Diary, and died in 1973. The writers’ library was donated in 2008 by the family and brings together copies of various subjects, including a large number of French publications.
Arthur Arcuri was born in Juiz de Fora in 1913. An engineer and professor, graduated from the National School of Engineering, he joined the Pantaleone Arcuri Construction Company, becoming a member of the board of directors. He was the first professor of History of Art at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora and, as the designer of the University Campus’ project, he was president of the Planning Committee of the University City and a member of the Commission for the University Reformation. He was also responsible for the management of the National Historical and Artistic Heritage in São João del-Rei and Tiradentes.
Donated by Arcuri to the Murilo Mendes Museum of Art, his library contains more than 2,000 volumes, focused on the themes of art history, philosophy, aesthetics, painting and sculpture.
João Guimarães Vieira was born Pentagna, former São Sebastião do Rio Bonito, in Rio de Janeiro. Nicknamed Guima, the artist was born in 1920. He was the author of paintings (among them, the mural at the Central Library of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora), illustrations and book covers, and he was also a professor of Art History and Foundations of Visual Arts at the Arts Center of the University of Rio de Janeiro. He worked as a journalist for the newspapers Folha Mineira and Diário Mercantil.
The intellectual’s library has 2,820 titles and 3,027 volumes, consisting mainly of themes such as painting and drawing techniques, studies on vision and colors, and works about philosophers, famous writers and great thinkers.
Born in 1921, in Três Corações, Dormevilly Nobrega had a peculiar taste for reading and collected a huge variety of things. Besides being a collector, he was a journalist and a writer. After his death, Dormevilly’s collection was acquired by the Murilo Mendes Art Museum in 2010.
Books, newspapers and clippings of all kinds base an important historical collection of Juiz de Fora and region. The most different publications date from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries and include the most varied forms of literature, such as novels, short stories, poetry, biographies and chronicles, as well as separate publications such as periodicals, magazines and letters.
CLEONICE RAINHO
The writer, who had 26 works published among novels, short stories and poetry, was devoted essentially to children’s literature. In addition to that, in 1955 Cleonice founded the Luso-Brazilian Culture Association, based in Juiz de Fora, and directed the organization for the next 25 years.
Acquired in 2011, the writer’s library is currently in the organizing and cataloging stage and will soon be presented to the public for consultation.
MARIA DE LOURDES ABREU DE OLIVEIRA
Maria de Lourdes Abreu de Oliveira was born in Maria da Fé, South of Minas Gerais. She graduated in Classical Literature at the former Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (Fafile), having a Master’s and a Doctorate’s degrees from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She worked for 62 years as a teacher, starting to teach literature in 1968 at UFJF until her retirement. Later, she joined the Master’s Program in Literature of the CES College until 2015.
Her career includes awards such as the Belo Horizonte CityAward, the João de Barro for Children’s Literature, the Bloch National Award for Novels, and the Petrobras Literature Contest. She published numerous novels, short stories and novellas, besides having been the subject of academic studies, which yielded works such as “Colar de Contos Premiados” (“Necklace of Awarded Tales”), organized by the tutor and curator of her work, Moema Rodrigues Brandão Mendes.
Donated in June 2017, her collection in the MAMM features around 2,500 titles, including all of her own works, among which stand out Bravo Brazil, Pessoa under persona, Anciently at the basement, With eyes closed, The island boy, Foreign body, Paths of the Brazilian fictional narrative, Eros and Thanatos in the textual universe of Camões, Antero and Redol, and others.
