Adonias Aguiar Filho (November 27, 1915 – August 2, 1990) was a novelist, essayist, journalist, and literary critic from Bahia, Brazil, and a member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras.

Life

Filho was born in Itajuípe, Brazil, the son of Adonias Aguiar and Rachel Bastos de Aguiar. In 1936, 2 years after finishing high school in Salvador, he moved from the south of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil’s capital at the time, where he continued his career in

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, previously started in Salvador. He worked for well known newspapers such as ''

Correio da Manhã ''Correio da Manhã'' () is a Portuguese daily newspaper from Portugal. Published in Lisbon, it is the most circulated daily newspaper in Portugal. History and profile ''Correio da Manhã'' was established in 1979. The paper is based in Lisbon ...

'' and ''Revista do Brazil''. He was also a literary critic for ''Cadernos da "Hora Presente"'', from

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

in 1937, ''A Manhã'', from 1944 to 1945, along with ''Jornal de Letras'' (from 1955 to 1960) and ''Diário de Notícias'' (from 1958 to 1960). In São Paulo, he also collaborated with ''

O Estado de S. Paulo ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to berliner on October 17, 2021. It has t ...

'' and ''Folha da Manhã''. Between 1946 and 1950, he ran the book publishing company "A Noite". He was the director of the Serviço Nacional de Teatro, in 1954, and director of the

Biblioteca Nacional Biblioteca Nacional (Spanish or Portuguese: ''National Library'') may refer to: *Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, in Chile *Biblioteca Nacional de España, in Spain *Biblioteca Nacional del Perú, in Peru * Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, in Portugal ...

from 1961 to 1971. At the same time, he worked for the at the Ministério da Justiça. In 1966, he was elected vice-president of the (ABI) and in the following year, he became a member of the Conselho Federal de Cultura (CFC). He was re-elected in 1969, 1971 and 1973. He was the president of the ABI in 1972 and president of the CFC from 1977 to 1990, when he died. As a writer, Adonias Aguiar Filho searched for inspiration for his fiction in the "zona cacaueira" ( Cocoa plantations) close to

Ilhéus Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the most important touris ...

, back to his origins in the South of

, where he was born and raised. This ambiance is well displayed in his first novel, ''Os servos da morte'' (The Servants of Death), published in 1946. In the form of the

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pr ...

, reality served as an opportunity to recreate a world charged with symbolism, in the situations as well as in the characters, bearing witness to a tragic sense of life and worldview. He was part of the , a literary society devoted to spirituality and Catholic tradition. The use of original stylistic features, reflective of the internal violence of his characters gave him a fundamental place in the literary generation that created the 3rd phase of Brazilian

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

in 1945, which was based on a return to more normal disciplines of writing. They were concerned about writing with less formal research, while broadening their regional meanings to apply universally. Their work still has a significant influence on contemporary

Brazilian literature Brazilian literature is the literature written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, including works written prior to the country's independence in 1822. Throughout its early years, literature from Brazil followed the literary t ...

and fiction. He was honored with the 21st chair at the Brazilian Academy of Letters ( Academia Brasileira de Letras) at the age of 53, May 23, 1969. The title was handed to him by his fellow writer from Bahia,

Jorge Amado Jorge Leal Amado de Faria (10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in ...

. His literary work has been translated into English, German, Spanish, French and Slovak. He died in Ilhéus, shortly after his wife did.

Academia Brasileira de Letras

Fifth holder of the 21st Chair, originally held by

Joaquim Serra Joaquim Serra (born Joaquim Maria Serra Sobrinho) was a Brazilian journalist, professor, politician and playwright. He was born in São Luís, Maranhão on July 20, 1838, and died in Rio de Janeiro on October 29, 1888. He was the patron of Chair 2 ...

; elected January 14, 1965. Preceded by ; Followed by

Dias Gomes Alfredo de Freitas Dias Gomes () (19 October 1922 – 18 May 1999) was a Brazilian playwright. He was born on October 19, 1922 in Salvador, Bahia. He started writing plays at age 15 and later wrote soap operas. He wrote the first ever colo ...

Bibliography

* Renascimento do homem - essay (1937) * Tasso da Silveira e o tema da poesia eterna - essay (1940) * ''Memórias de Lázaro'' - novel (1952) * Jornal de um escritor (1954) * Modernos ficcionistas brasileiros - essay (1958) * Cornélio Pena - critique (1960) * ''Corpo vivo'' - novel (1962) * História da Bahia - essay (1963) * O bloqueio cultural - essay (1964) * ''O forte'' - novel (1965) * ''Léguas da promissão'' - novella (1968) * O romance brasileiro de crítica - critique (1969) * Luanda Beira Bahia - novel (1971) * O romance brasileiro de 30 - critique (1973) * Uma nota de cem – children’s literature (1973) * ''As velhas'' - novel (1975) * ''Fora da pista'' - children’s literature (1978) * ''O Largo da Palma'' - novella (1981) * Auto de Ilhéus – theater (1981) * ''Noites sem madrugada'' - novel (1983). * ''O Homem de branco'' - novel (1987).

Awards

Adonias Filho was awarded: * Prêmio Paula Brito de crítica literária (Guanabara, 1968), for the book "Léguas da promissão", * Golfinho de Ouro de Literatura (1968), * Prêmio PEN Clube do Brasil, * Prêmio da Fundação Educacional do Paraná (FUNDEPAR) * Prêmio do Instituto Nacional do Livro (1968–1969) * Prêmio Brasília de Literatura (1973), from Fundação Cultural do Distrito Federal. * Premio Nacional de Literatura (1975), from Instituto Nacional do Livro, in the category published work (1974–1975), with the

"As velhas", and * Title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the

Universidade Federal da Bahia The Federal University of Bahia ( pt, Universidade Federal da Bahia, UFBA) is a public university located mainly in the city of Salvador. It is the largest university in the state of Bahia and one of Brazil's most prestigious educational institu ...

, in 1983.

External links

Adonias na Academia Brasileira

e-biografias

Encyclopædia Britannica

Adonius Aguiar Filho recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division’s audio literary archive on December 13, 1977
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filho, Adonias People from Bahia 1915 births 1990 deaths Brazilian male dramatists and playwrights Brazilian male novelists Brazilian literary critics Brazilian essayists 20th-century Brazilian novelists 20th-century Brazilian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century essayists 20th-century Brazilian male writers