is the only completed book-length work by Euclides da Cunha, a journalist, sociologist, poet and engineer with a military background. As a hybrid text, incorporating essay, journalistic and literary features, the work is emblematic of Cunha’s scientific curiosity and literary leanings. As the war correspondent for
O Estado de São Paulo, one of the most influential Brazilian newspapers at the time, Cunha accompanied a fourth military campaign between August and October 1897 against the villagers of Canudos, an almost medieval enclave in the arid northeastern Brazilian backlands. High fever forced him to return to São Paulo two days before the end of the conflict. The outcome of the final battle, however, appears in
Os Sertoes, the re-working of his news reports in a single…
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Citation: Sellmann Oliveira, Mauricio. "Os Sertões". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 July 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35591, accessed 16 April 2024.]
