This article’s aim is to analyze the confluence relations between the American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) and one of the most famous Brazilian writers, Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, widely known as Machado de Assis (1839-1908). Both Poe and Machado are widely recognized for their works, which points out to the necessity of making an overview of the literary criticism regarding the two authors, including the ways in which scholars analyze their texts. First of all, we will briefly discuss their importance as writers in the contexts of American and Brazilian literature, respectively, showing the relevance of their ideas in the construction of a national literature that would be free of foreign literary imitation, as well as the misconceptions held by famous scholars in relation to Machado’s and Poe’s literary production. Secondly, we will analyze the similarities between both authors, considering the researchers who already explored these similarities, as well as the importance of the French poet Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) in the divulgation of Poe’s work in Europe and also in Brazil, which is extremely relevant if we consider the problems related to Poe’s insertion within the canon of American literature. Finally, we will briefly explore some of the possibilities of research in this area, considering the small amount of Brazilian scholars who are dedicated to study the confluences between Poe and Machado de Assis, which shows a certain negligence in relation to features that deserve more concern and research from these scholars.

Confluence, American Literature, Brazilian Literature, Nationalism