Literatura negra e/ou afro-brasileira: uma tentativa de conceituação

The article aims to discuss the concept of black and/or Afro-Brazilian literature. It summarizes different approaches to the definition of Afro-Brazilian literature elaborated both by critics and its authors, taking in consideration the elements such as authorship, point of view, thematic content, language / aesthetic or target reader. Presenting briefly the presence (as object and subject) and the image of the black population in the Brazilian literary canon, the article discusses the way it has been deconstructed and transgressed by Afro-Brazilian authors.