The measure of the impossible: the poetic science of common beings
Keywords:
zoopoetics; hybridity; art; scienceAbstract
This article reflects on the work of Brazilian writer Maria Esther Maciel, with special attention to her incursions into zoopoetics, which are also associated with her career as a teacher and researcher. The central thread of the article is the book Pequena enciclopédia de seres comuns, written by Maciel (2021) and illustrated by Julia Panadés, in which a series of entries blends animals, plants, and other living beings, whether fictional or not. Its structure reinforces the fluidity between the various species that compose the book, as well as between art and science, leading readers to reflect on the classification processes that organize our knowledge production and the relationships between humans and non-humans.
References
BORGES, Jorge Luis (2007). O idioma analítico de John Wilkins. In: BORGES, Jorge Luis. Outras inquisições São Paulo: Companhia das Letras. p. 121-126.
BORGES, Jorge Luis; GUERRERO, Margarita (2001). Manual de zoología fantástica México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
BORGES, Jorge Luis; GUERRERO, Margarita (2007). O livro dos seres imaginários Tradução de Heloísa Jahn. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.
CORREIA, Fernando (2012). A ilustração científica: “santuário” onde a arte e a ciência comungam. Visualidades, Goiânia, v. 9, n. 2, p. 221-239. Disponível em: https://revistas.ufg.br/VISUAL/article/view/19864 Acesso em: 23 out. 2022.
» https://revistas.ufg.br/VISUAL/article/view/19864
FOUCAULT, Michel (2002). As palavras e as coisas: uma arqueologia das ciências humanas. São Paulo: Martins Fontes.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (1985). Dos haveres do corpo Belo Horizonte: Terra.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (1995). As vertigens da lucidez: poesia e crítica em Octavio Paz. São Paulo: Experimento.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (2004). O livro de Zenóbia Rio de Janeiro: Lamparina.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (1998). O livro dos nomes São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (2004). A memória das coisas: ensaios de literatura, cinema e artes plásticas. Rio de Janeiro: Lamparina.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (2008). O animal escrito: um olhar sobre a zooliteratura contemporânea. Bauru: Lumme.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (2009). As ironias da ordem: coleções, inventários e enciclopédias ficcionais. Belo Horizonte: Editora UFMG.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (2016). Literatura e animalidade Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (2020). M de memória Belo Horizonte: Tlön.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (2021). Pequena enciclopédia de seres comuns São Paulo: Todavia.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (2023). Animalidades: zooliteratura e os limites do humano. São Paulo: Instante.
MACIEL, Maria Esther (2024). Essa coisa viva São Paulo: Todavia.
PEREC, Georges (2001). Pensar/clasificar Barcelona: Gedisa.
POMBO, Olga (2006). O projecto enciclopedista. In: POMBO, Olga; GUERREIRO, António; ALEXANDRE, António Franco (org.). Enciclopédia e hipertexto Lisboa: Duarte Reis. p. 180-193.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
a) The authors maintain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, the work being simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License-Non Commercial 4.0 which allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of the authorship of the work and publication this journal.
b) Authors are authorized to enter into additional contracts separately, for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (eg publish in institutional repository or as a book chapter), with authorship recognition and publication in this journal.
c) Authors are allowed and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (eg in institutional repositories or on their personal page) after the editorial process, as this can generate productive changes, as well as increase the impact and citation of published work (See The Effect of Free Access).
d) The authors of the approved works authorize the magazine to, after publication, transfer its content for reproduction in content crawlers, virtual libraries and the like.
e) The authors assume that the texts submitted to the publication are of their original creation, being fully responsible for their content in the event of possible opposition by third parties.