Edmundo Pedro: Memory of the Prisons of the Estado Novo

Abstract

The trilogy Memórias. Um Combate pela Liberdade is the testimony of Edmundo Pedro (1918-2018), a Portuguese anti-fascist who was imprisoned, tortured and held incommunicado several times during the Estado Novo. He was imprisoned in several prisons in Portugal and for nine years in the Tarrafal concentration camp, created by the Portuguese state in Cape Verde, in 1936. He was fifteen years old the first time he was arrested and fifty- nine the last time, already during the democracy. His testimony gives an insight into many aspects of the life of a member of anti-fascist resistance and the structures and methods of containment used to try to annihilate the opposition. The role played by certain stylistic features
of the narrative is highlighted in the essay. The value of this trilogy for the constitution of collective memory is discussed.Keywords: José Luis Gallego; Francoism; Prisons; Poetry; Clandestinity; (self-)censorship.