“In poetry I can express the world”: an analysis of the Literature at School Project, Palmares II settlement, Parauapebas (PA)

Abstract

 ABSTRACT. This article analyzes the Literature at the Rural School Project. Created in 2022, the initiative encourages students from Oziel Alves Pereira Municipal Elementary School, located in the Palmares II Settlement, in Parauapebas, Pará State, Brazil, to produce literary texts. The two editions of the project resulted in the publication of two books: the first composed of poems and the second of short stories. The project sought to stimulate students’ interest in reading, especially literary texts, while fostering critical thinking and reflection on issues present in their daily lives, highlighting their identities as rural subjects living in an MST settlement. Methodologically, the study was developed through a qualitative ethnographic approach conducted by one of the authors, who has worked at the school since 2018, using participant observation, informal conversations, and analysis of the students’ written productions. The results indicate that literature constitutes an important tool in the teaching-learning process, promoting the development of reading, writing, and creativity, while encouraging reflections on themes such as family, friendship, racism, nature, and rural life. The analyzed productions also reveal the students’ protagonism and the strengthening of their peasant identities through literary writing.