The “inseparabilidade” of transits in the works of Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida

Abstract

Based on the concept of “inseparabilidade”, published by Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida in an essay of the same name in Pintado com o pé (2019), this article offers a reading of four works by the writer: Esse cabelo (2015), Luanda, Lisboa, Paraíso (2018), As telefones (2020) e Maremoto (2021). As a shared characteristic, the four books tell stories of immigration, mostly between Angola and Portugal. However, these stories are not linked to the “retornados”, which have already been thoroughly investigated by Portuguese literature, but to a generation starting in the 1980s following the period decolonization. As often indicated in the author bio included in her books (with the exception of the last two, a significant editorial change), Djaimilia “was born in Angola, grew up in Portugal, and lives in the periphery of Lisboa”, and as such, her insertion in contemporary Portuguese literature, in spite of the space set by the publishing business, is also deserving of attention. After all, there is yet to be a reflection over a public memory/history of colonization, beyond the testimonies of those who were part of the war/decolonization process or their descendants (postmemory), that encompasses the diaspora of the populations of the former colonies and resignifies the space of the old metropole. Finally, we consider the need to think about Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida not only through the lens of postcoloniality, but also through the concept of “post-migration” in order to understand her writing as a diverging memory in post-Abril 25th Portuguese literature.