Abstract
This article analyzes Machado de Assis and his editor Francisco de Paula Brito's attempts to legitimize the poet Antônio Gonçalves Teixeira e Sousa. By writing the poem, "O gênio adormecido" (The Sleeping Genius), published in Marmota Fluminense in 1855, Machado put the name of Teixeira e Sousa back into circulation and foregrounded the epic poem, A Independência do Brasil (The Independence of Brazil), published in 1847 (Tome I) and 1855 (Tome II) by Paula Brito. Machado, like other collaborators at the newspaper, probably wrote in alignment with the editor, composing verses that, in addition to consecrating a master or friend, put his own name in circulation.
Keywords:
Legitimation; Circulation; Teixeira e Sousa; Machado de Assis; Paula Brito