Conceição Evaristo

Conceição Evaristo
Evaristo in 2024
BornMaria da Conceição Evaristo de Brito
(1946-11-29) 29 November 1946
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Occupation
  • Writer
  • poet
  • novelist
  • essayist
EducationFederal University of Rio de Janeiro (BLitt)
Fluminense Federal University (MLitt)
Genres
Literary movementPostmodernism
Notable worksPonciá Vivêncio
Notable awards

Maria da Conceição Evaristo de Brito (born 29 November 1946) is a Brazilian writer. Her work is marked by her life experiences as an Afro-Brazilian woman, which she calls escrevivência—a portmanteau of escrita (writing) and vivência (life experience). She was born into a humble family and is the second oldest of nine siblings, being the first in her household to earn a university degree. She helped her mother and aunt with washing clothes and deliveries, while studying.

In the 1970s, she moved to Rio de Janeiro, where she passed a contest, starting to write only in the 1990s. She completed her master's degree in the mid-1990s and her doctorate in the early 2010s.

She is a first cousin of Macaé Evaristo, the current Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship under the Lula government.