Mário Cochrane de Alencar (30 January 1872 – 8 December 1925) was a Brazilian poet, short story writer, journalist, lawyer and novelist. He was one of the children of famous novelist José de Alencar. He occupied the 21st chair of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...

from 1905 until his death in 1925.

Biography

Born in

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 ...

, to famous novelist José de Alencar and Georgina Augusta Cochrane, daughter of a British aristocrat. He was the grandson of politician

José Martiniano Pereira de Alencar José Martiniano Pereira de Alencar (October 16, 1794 – March 15, 1860) was a Brazilian politician, journalist and priest, father of famous Brazilian novelist José de Alencar and diplomat Leonel Martiniano de Alencar, the Baron of Alencar. A ...

, nephew of diplomat Leonel Martiniano de Alencar, the Baron of Alencar, and brother of politician and diplomat Augusto de Alencar. He made his primary studies in the

Colégio Pedro II Colégio Pedro II is a traditional federal public school, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the third oldest active college in the country, after Ginásio Pernambucano and Atheneu Norte-Riograndense. The school was created ...

and graduated in law at the Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de São Paulo. He collaborated for newspapers such as ''Brasilea'' (1917), ''Correio do Povo'' (1880), ''Gazeta de Notícias'' (1894), ''O Imparcial'' and ''A Imprensa'' (1900), ''Jornal do Commercio'', ''O Mundo Literário'', ''Renascença'', ''Revista Brasileira'' (1895–1899) and the ''Official Magazine of the

''. He wrote under the pen names Deina and John Alone in some of those.

Trivia

Chronicler Carlos Heitor Cony alleges that Mário could have been an illegitimate son of

Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short sto ...

, since both Mário and Joaquim suffered from

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...

, while José de Alencar did not. Mário also called Machado de Assis "father" constantly in his letters addressed to him. This affair allegedly served as inspiration for Assis' famous novel '' Dom Casmurro''.Mário de Alencar: Machado de Assis' son?

Works

* ''Lágrimas'' (1888) * ''Versos'' (1902) * ''Ode Cívica ao Brasil'' (1903) * ''Dicionário de Rimas'' (1906) * ''Alguns Escritos'' (1910) * ''O Que Tinha Que Ser'' (1912) * ''Se Eu Fosse Político'' (1913) * ''Catulo da Paixão Cearense'' (1919) * ''Contos e Impressões'' (1920)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alencar, Mario De 1872 births 1925 deaths Writers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian people of British descent Brazilian male novelists Brazilian male poets Brazilian male short story writers Brazilian journalists Male journalists Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters University of São Paulo alumni Portuguese-language writers 20th-century Brazilian poets 20th-century Brazilian short story writers 20th-century Brazilian male writers 20th-century Brazilian novelists Brazilian people of Scottish descent