When Dom Pedro I declared Brazilian independence in September 1822, he could not have known that the newly liberated country would one day become a nation of 200 million citizens. Becoming Brazil: New Fiction, Poetry, and Memoir presents writing by and about the vibrant people of this fascinatingly diverse and rapidly changing country.

Although Brazil is by far the largest and most populous nation in South America-with approximately the same landmass as the US-Brazilian literature, art, and culture are little known in countries where Portuguese is not spoken. But within Brazil, contemporary artists and writers are creating a culture that is both cosmopolitan and inclusive of the nation's diverse regions, customs, and dialects.

Becoming Brazil includes works by canonical twentieth-century Brazilian writers, innovative contemporary authors, and new voices, many of them in translation for the first time. The volume also includes stunning black and white images by Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado.