Edson Nery da Fonseca (1921-2014)
A great friend with whom I spent pleasant days and evenings in Brasilia, Rio and São Paulo. He was the librarian par excellence. Trained abroad in the latest technology, he was selected to found the School of “Biblioteconomia” at the newly founded University of Brasilia in the early 1960’s.
Edson was extremely genial, spoke colloquial English and took a great liking to me and vice versa. He was a son of Pernambuco, to which he was utterly devoted. Possessed of a wonderful laugh, he was a great conversational companion. He was also a key collaborator (although younger) of Gilberto Freyre, fellow Pernambucan and legendary interpreter of Brazil’s past. He edited several of his mentors’ work and endlessly defended him from his many critics.
I traded many stories about Freyre with Edson. One of my more memorable encounters was a flight into the interior of São Paulo for an international conference on the work (I was one of several close students of Freyre’s work.). My English-born wife was traveling with me. As we prepared to land, a rather commanding figure arose several rows ahead of us. He turned to me and said “Mr. Livingston, I presume.”
But the best meeting of all with Edson was when I met up with him in Brasilia. I had just finished a three-city tour (Rio-São Paulo-Brasilia) with Chico Barbosa in an official car provided to Chico by the then president of the Brazilian national Congress. Stopping in the capital we paid a courtesy visit on the congressional president, our benefactor, to thank him for the use of his (black) full-size sedan. It came complete with a chauffeur who was a fanatical fan of samba songs. Throughout our multi-week trip he entertained us with every song of the last four decades of Rio’s Carnival. Brazilian popular culture—c’est magnifique.
When I met with Edson he said, “where have you been? I expected you earlier.” I then recounted to him our encounter with the president of the Congress. Chico Barbosa (who always knew how to work the angles) had said, “Mr. President, we are most grateful for the use of your automobile, BUT you forgot to cover the incidentals…” The president, who was distinctly taller than Chico, didn’t bat an eye and said firmly “QUANTO FOI (how much)?” as he reached for an enormous sack of bills under his chair. Chico pocketed the cash. Edson couldn’t get enough of this story.
What a good friend! I should add that later in life he published a touching memoir. It brought back good memories. Our mutual interest in Freyre stayed with me. I used his work as a vade mecu in exploring Brazil’s past. Edson’s sense of humor still sustains me after all these decades.
I’m sure he dined out for many years telling my story of the Congressional president and the sack of money.
Further Readings
Fonseca, Edson Nery Da. Casa-grande & senzala e a crítica brasileira de 1933 a 1944. Recife: Companhia Editora de Pernambuco, 1985.
Fonseca, Edson Nery Da. Novas perspectivas em casa-grande e senzala: conferências de um ciclo promovido conjuntamente pela fundação Joaquim Nabuco e pelo governo do estado de Pernambuco. Recife: Editora Massangana, Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, 1985.
Fonseca, Edson Nery Da. Gilberto Freyre de A a Z: referências essenciais à sua vida e obra. Rio De Janeiro, RJ: Ministério da Cultura, Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, Departamento Nacional Do Livro: 2002.
Edison Nery da Fonseca was born in Recife, Pernambuco. A reputable librarian in the municipal government in the 1940s, he later established the studies of librarianship at the University of Brasilia (UNB) in 1965, where he also founded the Central Library. An expert on sociologist Gilberto Freyre’s texts, he published many works on Freyre’s research. Fonseca served as researcher at the Joaquim Nabuco Foundation from 1980 to 1987 and taught as professor emeritus at UNB before retiring in 1991.