To bee or not too bee? – Invisibeelities of honey landscapes in Alentejo narratives

Abstract

Framed by material ecocriticism and ecological anthropology, this research aims to understand if we can glimpse a “honey landscape” hidden in Portuguese fictional narratives and poetry anchored in Alentejo. What I propose to label as “honey landscape” was considered, by official narratives from 19th to 20th century, as mere extensions of uncultivated land. Following the literary sources, we can understand that it is possible to perceive a multisensory honey landscape beyond the negative and stereotyped idea of wastelands. I conclude that literature can provide a new lens in the way we perceive what has been an undervalued landscape: Alentejo scrublands.