The Third Congress of Brazilian Writers: "The New Brazil on the Global Scene" 2011

In 2011 our third congress was meant to concur with the worldwide view recognizing Brazil as one of the seven most prosperous economies.  In attendance were writers such as David Jackson, Mary Del Priore, and Humberto França.

The Second Congress of Writers – A Centennial Celebration of Joaquim Nabuco 2010

The event was aimed at honoring Joaquim Nabuco as a most accomplished figure as a writer, diplomat, and statesman. Additionally the conference explored Nabuco’s ideas and principles in relation to the history between the United States and Brazil. The Congress whose main speaker was the Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, and officially opened with a letter message from President William Jefferson Clinton, had a number of noteworthy Professors like Marco Aurelio Nogueira, Mary Del Priore, and Humberto França.

The First Women Writers Congress and Contest for Fiction and Poetry in New York 2009

The event was held in honor of the Brazilian writers Nisia Floresta, Clarice Lispector and Cecilia Meireles. The First Contest for Fiction and Poetry was also held in order to encourage writers, poets, and new talents. At the Congress, the history of women's literature in Brazil was discussed. Some well known figures were in attendance, such as Ana Maria Machado (current President of ABL), Nadia Gotlieb, Conceicao Evaristo.

First Brazilian Congress of Writers in New York 2008

The First Brazilian Congress of Writers in New York, was hosted with the support of the Consulate General of Brazil in New York, to honor Machado de Assis, one of the greatest writers in the history of Brazilian literature on the centennial occasion of his passing.  The Congress brought together over one hundred writers from Brazil and abroad. The conference was graced by the attendance of Ambassador Sergio Paulo Rouanet, filmmaker Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Prof. Gregory Rabassa and Prof. Flavio Chaves Loureiro.

Domício Coutinho, the founder of the Union of Brazilian Writers Association of New York (UBENY) and the Brazilian Endowment for the Arts (BEA), is a writer and teacher who has lived in New York for 50 plus years. Professor Coutinho graduated in Theology from Gregorian University in Rome and received another advanced degree in Anglo-Saxon languages in Brazil. He later received a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the City University of New York (CUNY). After living in New York for decades, Coutinho founded UBENY in 1999, which aims to “preserve, develop, and promote the richness and integrity of our mother-language for the benefit of our compatriots, who by life circumstances find themselves in a foreign land, of a different language and under a different flag.”  The association would gather a number of writers and poets like Flavio Perri, Gregory Rabassa, Beti Rozen, William Parreiras, Antonio Massa, Daria Farion,  Jordan Young, and Clifford Landers, among others.

In 2001 Domício Coutinho was awarded the Carioca Academy of Letters medal of merit Araripe Junior, and in 2002, he was admitted as Commander to the Order of Rio Branco by former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

In the same year, 2002, he created the Medal of Merit Machado de Assis, to honor those who, in the opinion of their peers, had achieved a degree of excellence in the arts and literature.

Books published by BEA

Authors: Domício Coutinho, José Sarney, Osmar Chohfi, Sérgio Paulo Rounaet, Fábio Lucas, Lourival Holanda, Marco Aurélio Nogueira, Kenneth David Jackson, Maria Helena Pereira Toledo, Mary del Priori, Charles Varzan Coutinho, Joshua Alma Enslen, Steven Topik, and João Almino.

You can purchase the book here.

Authors: Domício Coutinho, Luiz Felipe de Seixas Corrêa, Marshall C. Eakin, Fernando Freire, Marco Aurélio Nogueira, and Aristides Monteiro Neto.