Ailton Krenak new member of Brazil Academy of Letters
Environmental advocate, philosopher, and poet Ailton Krenak, on Friday (Apr. 5), assumed Chair 5 at the Brazilian Academy of Letters, during a ceremony held at the organization's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. He holds the distinction of being the first indigenous representative to occupy a seat in the academy, which was established in 1897 with the objective of nurturing the nation's language and literature.Chair 5 was previously held by historian José Murilo de Carvalho until his passing in August 2023. In his address during the ceremony, Krenak highlighted the indigenous plurality:"Ever since I was invited or encouraged to occupy this chair number five, I asked myself: 'Can 300 people fit into this chair?' As Mario de Andrade used to say, I am 300. How pretentious of me. I'm not mo...
