In this article, we rethink the metaphor of the "poet-engineer" or "poet-architect", which generally characterizes the creative process of João Cabral de Melo Neto, in the light of a genetic reading of the manuscripts of "The education of the stone". We show that the "architect" of the metaphor is originated in Le Corbusier, in which the design (the conception) determines the construction site (the execution). However, the analysis, in the manuscripts, of the transformation of structures by the means of textual reformulation shows that sometimes the project, or its intention, is changed during the works on the building site, that is, while writing the page.
João Cabral de Melo Neto; architecture; genetic criticism