FERNANDO CORREIA DA SILVA Translated
by John D. Godinho
In
the 1940s: World War II, victory of
the Allies, the political campaign of Norton de Matos for the presidency,
defying the Salazar dictatorship's
official candidate, General Carmona; militance in the Youth Branch of the
Movement for Democratic Union; confinement at Caxias.
Studies Economics at the School of Economics and Finances at Rua do
Quelhas. Literary
education? Perhaps the influence of
famous authors: the turbulence of
Camilo Castelo Branco, the cleverness of Aquilino Ribeiro, the realism of
Graciliano Ramos and Manuel da Fonseca. Add
to these, the sarcasm of Alexandre O'Neill and the surrealistic criticism of Mário
Henrique Leiria, both of them friends and companions in several adventures.
Revolution, yes! Even in things of the imagination.
1950: COLHEITA
(Harvest), book of poems. 1952:
children's book AS AVENTURAS DE PALHITA, O TOURO (The Adventures of Palhita, the
Bull). That same year, together
with Alexandre O'Neill, publishes A POMBA (The
Dove), an underground journal of militant poetry.
1953:
Now overseas, together with Agostinho Neto, Marcelino dos Santos and
Vasco Cabral, comes out in favor of the independence of what will eventually
become new African nations. Returns
to Portugal managing to evade the
dragnet set up by the dictatorship's secret police (PIDE).
1954: Is
pursued by the dictatorship's secret police, gives up his activities as an
economist and escapes to Brazil as a political exile.
1955: Discovers
that there are other ways of speaking and writing, that the Portuguese language
has grown beyond the borders of the motherland and is no longer the Southern
Galician it used to be. It has
adapted itself to the vastness of the World. 1956: While
working for the daily FOLHA DE S. PAULO, he creates and directs the FOLHINHA,
a children's supplement which is still published today.
1960/63:
Publishes two successful books, biographies, with several editions, OS
DESCOBRIDORES (The Discoverers) an OS
LIBERTADORES (The Liberators). For about four years, he is the editorial
coordinator for the publishing house Difusão Européia do Livro (DIFEL).
He is also one of the founders of the anti-fascist newspaper PORTUGAL
DEMOCRÁTICO (Democratic Portugal). At
the same time, he founds the GIROFLÉ, publisher of children's books, together
with Jorge de Sena, Casais Monteiro, Sidónio Muralha, Fernando Lemos and
Brazilian artists and writers such as Maria Bonomi, Guilherme Figueiredo and Cecília
Meireles. Publishes O
SINDICATO DOS BURROS (The Syndicate of the Asses), a collection of
children's stories. 1964/65: Brazil
suffers a military coup d'état. Fernando finds employment with a company in Fortaleza, in the
northern state of Ceará. For two
years, he has a chance to see, in loco,
the chasm between displays of luxury and abject poverty, manifestations of
explicit vampirism. He returns to
S. Paulo. Learns and applies
principles and skills of industrial rationalization.
1966: Publishes A COR DOS HOMENS (The
Color of Men), a fantastic-realistic novel:
if some type of plague turned all men (black and white) lilac-colored,
what would happen to racism? Returns
to Portugal: 1974, the Carnation
Revolution, April 25, freedom and euphoria must be guaranteed forever...He works
full-time in the production cooperatives movement.
But the old bosses return...1978: Publishes
a book of disclosures, short stories, 25
CONTOS DE ECONOMIA (25 Short Stories on Economics).
1986: A novel: MATA-CÃES (Dog Killer), a
picaresque hero lands in the middle of the revolution of April 1974.
1989: LORD
CANIBAL, a new novel with new adventures of the Dog Killer.
1996:
Becomes one of the authors and editorial coordinator of the series OITENTA
VIDAS QUE A MORTE NÃO APAGA (Eighty Lives Not Snuffed Out by Death), an
exercise in conciseness. That same
year publishes the novel QUERENÇA
(Affection), in which the stories the storyteller tells change the storyteller's
life, an exercise in renunciation. 1997: Re-writes and
expands his novel THE COLOR OF MEN. 1998:
Has two works in the press. He
becomes coordinator of VIDAS LUSÓFONAS (Lives of the Portuguese-Speaking World),
a site on the INTERNET. He
is the author of the following biographies on this site: |