Voices of Empowerment: A Feminist Literary Tour Through Matosinhos, Exploring Florbela Espanca’s Poetry

Beatriz Martins; Sara Pascoal

Beatriz Martins Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4212-6524
Sara Pascoal Centro de Estudos Interculturais, ISCAP, P. Porto https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1046-0900

Keywords: Florbela Espanca, Literary Tourism, Feminism, Experience Economy, Matosinhos

Abstract

This paper aims to develop a literary tour in Matosinhos focused on exploring the poetry of Florbela Espanca and her contributions to feminism. The objective is to create a tailored experience that offers visitors an immersive journey into Espanca’s world, highlighting her literary works and feminist ideals.
To achieve this objective, the methodology employed includes a literature review to understand Espanca’s poetry and its feminist undertones, interviews with local experts and scholars familiar with Espanca’s life and work, and fieldwork to explore the cultural and historical and geographical context of Matosinhos.
This paper stems from the project undertaken as a part of ISCAP Master’s program in Intercultural Studies for Business at Porto Polytechnic, responding to contemporary trends in tourism that prioritize authentic and personalized experiences over mass tourism. By combining creativity with a niche market approach, the project aims to demonstrate the viability and significance of literary tourism, particularly in celebrating the often overlooked contributions of women writers like Florbela Espanca. Through “FEMME: Exploring Florbela’s Matosinhos: a literary tour where poetry and feminism converge,” the project underscores the importance of crafting meaningful and inclusive experiences that resonate with travellers seeking intellectual and emotional engagement.

Author Biographies

Beatriz Martins, Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto

Beatriz Martins licenciou-se em Assessoria e Tradução, em 2021, no Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto. Em 2023, nessa mesma instituição, terminou o Mestrado em Intercultural Studies for Business, com a apresentação do Trabalho de Projeto intitulado “FEMME: Exploring Florbela’s Matosinhos. A literary tour where poetry and feminism converge”.

Desempenhou diversos cargos em projetos académicos durante o seu percurso académico, tais como Secretária da Mesa da Assembleia Geral e membro do Departamento Comercial na Júnior Empresa Juniscap Business Solutions, a primeira júnior empresa do Politécnico do Porto, de janeiro de 2022 a julho de 2023. Foi, ainda, em 2021, redatora do Jornal A Coluna AEISCAP, até 2023, onde progrediu para Editora-Geral.

Atualmente trabalha no Gabinete de Comunicação e Relações Públicas do ISCAP, como assessora estagiária.

Sara Pascoal, Centro de Estudos Interculturais, ISCAP, P. Porto

Sara Cerqueira Pascoal is an Associate Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (ISCAP- P.Porto), Portugal, since 1997, where she teaches Rhetoric, Semiotics and Portuguese for Foreigners. She has an undergraduate degree in Modern Languages and Literatures, a Master’s degree in Portuguese Culture and a PHD in Romanic Languages and Cultures. She is a researcher and member of the Scientific Board of the Centre for Intercultural Studies of IPP and a researcher at the Institute for the Study of Literature and Tradition (IELT). Her research interests range from Literary Geography and Geocriticism, Literary and Cultural Tourism, Rhetoric, Semiotics, Intercultural Communication and Portuguese Culture.