Title Details

During the Brazilian military-civilian dictatorship (1964-1985), the acts of speaking and silencing could sentence one or one’s comrades to life or death, both inside and outside the cells of the organs of repression. This is how philosopher, journalist and writer Luiz Roberto Salinas Fortes’s moving testimony begins in 'Silent Portrait'.

“This sadly posthumous book by Luiz Roberto Salinas Fortes belongs to the fascinating genre of writings that show human beings in search of themselves,” writes literary critic Antonio Candido in the preface. “As the author recounts his encounters with the police and the military repression, we witness the unraveling of his own nature. His excellent writing results in a book marked by the strong originality of those who do not seek to be original.”

The author recounts his two arrests on suspicion of participation in the struggle against the military dictatorship in the early 1970s, and transcribes pages of one of his diaries from the 1950s. Finally, he reports two other arrests in the mid-1970s for alleged involvement in drug trafficking. “Apparently casual, the disposition of matter is perfect as a narrative scheme because it presents situations that were arranged by external agents while allowing us to evaluate the inner life of the individual dragged into them, and whose integrity is tested by them,” continues Candido.