Adalgisa Nery (October 29, 1905 – June 7, 1980) was a Brazilian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Biography

She was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

as Adalgisa Maria Feliciana Noel Cancela Ferreira, the daughter of a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. In 1922 she married

Ismael Nery Ismael Nery (October 9, 1900 – April 6, 1934) was a Brazilian artist. His iconic work is Autorretrato, 1927 (Autorretrato Rio/Paris), a surrealist painting commonly compared to the '' Green Violinist'' of Marc Chagall and now in São Paulo Muse ...

(1900–1934), a

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and poet who introduced Adalgisa to a circle of Brazilian artists and intellectuals that included

Manuel Bandeira Manuel Carneiro de Sousa Bandeira Filho (April 19, 1886 – October 13, 1968) was a Brazilian poet, literary critic, and translator, who wrote over 20 books of poetry and prose. Life and career Bandeira was born in Recife, Pernambuco. In 1904 ...

Jorge de Lima Jorge Mateus de Lima (; April 23, 1893 – November 15, 1953) was a Brazilian politician, physician, poet, novelist, biographer, essayist, translator and painter. His poetry was initially composed in Alexandrine form, but he later became a m ...

and

Murilo Mendes Murilo Monteiro Mendes (May 13, 1901 – August 13, 1975) was a Brazilian Modernist poet, considered to be one of the forerunners of the Surrealist movement in Brazil. Biography Mendes was born in Juiz de Fora, in the Brazilian state of Minas Ger ...

. The Nerys lived in Europe from 1927 to 1929, where they met the artist

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

and the Brazilian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has globally bec ...

. Ismael died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1934, leaving Adalgisa with two sons. Nery began to publish poetry and fiction after her first husband's death. Her first book, ''Poemas'', published in 1937, received critical acclaim, and she wrote

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

and magazine articles. Although the poet

had proposed marriage to Nery in the late 1930s, she married in 1940

Lourival Fontes Lourival Fontes (July 20, 1899 – March 6, 1967) was a Brazilian journalist and politician best known for being the propaganda minister for President Getúlio Vargas between 1934 and 1942. He was born in Riachão do Dantas, Sergipe and married t ...

(1899–1967), director general of the Department of Press and Propaganda (DIP). In the dictatorship (" Estado Novo") of

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

, the DIP was in charge of

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

. Nery assisted the DIP as a social director and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

officer. When Fontes was named Brazilian

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1944, Nery accompanied him and met

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

(who painted Nery's portrait),

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siquei ...

and

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

. After Nery and Fontes separated in 1953, Nery began the political phase of her career. As a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

for the Rio de Janeiro

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

''Última Hora'' from 1954 to 1966, she advocated

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and Brazilian

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

. The success of her newspaper column helped Nery to be elected as a member of the constituent assembly for

Guanabara State The State of Guanabara (, ) was a state of Brazil from 1960 to 1975, which included the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was named after Guanabara Bay to the east of the state. It was created from the territory of the old Federal District when the ...

(now the city of Rio de Janeiro) in 1960 for the left-wing

Brazilian Socialist Party The Brazilian Socialist Party (, PSB) is a political party in Brazil. It was founded in 1947, before being abolished by the military regime in 1965 and re-organised in 1989 after the re-democratisation of Brazil. It elected six Governors in 201 ...

(PSB). Nery distinguished herself in the state legislature for her opposition to Guanabara Governor

Carlos Lacerda Carlos Frederico Werneck de Lacerda (30 April 1914 – 21 May 1977) was a Brazilian journalist and politician. Biography Born in Rio de Janeiro, Lacerda was the son of a family of politicians from Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro state. He was the s ...

and her high

ethical Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...

standards. She was reelected to the state legislature in 1962 and 1966. After the

military regime A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a strongman, or by a council of mi ...

banned political parties in 1965, Nery joined the

Brazilian Democratic Movement The Brazilian Democratic Movement (, MDB) is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a " big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, with the most numbers of senators, ...

(MDB), which was the

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

to the

. In 1969, the military junta then governing Brazil ended Nery's mandate and stripped her of the right to run for office or vote for 10 years. Nery spent the last years of her life in increasing depression and

seclusion Seclusion is the act of secluding (i.e. isolating from society), the state of being secluded, or a place that facilitates it (a secluded place). A person, couple, or larger group may go to a secluded place for privacy or peace and quiet. The ...

. She died in a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home, old folks' home, or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – or rest home, is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Ty ...

in Rio de Janeiro. Various short stories and poems by Nery have been translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Works

* ''Poemas'' 1937 * ''A mulher ausente'' (poems) 1940 * ''Og'' (short stories) 1943 * ''Ar do deserto'' (poems) 1943 * ''Cantas de angústia'' (poems) 1948 * ''As fronteiras da quarta dimensão'' (poems) 1952 * ''A imaginária'' (novel) 1959 * ''Mundos oscilantes'' (poems) 1962 * ''Retrato sem retoque'' (collection of newspaper columns) 1966 * ''22 menos 1'' (short stories) 1972 * ''Neblina'' (novel) 1972 * ''Erosão'' (poems) 1973

References

Sources

Callado, Ana Arruda. ''Adalgisa Nery: muito amada e muito só''. Rio de Janeiro: Relume Dumará, 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nery, Adalgisa 1905 births 1980 deaths Brazilian women poets 20th-century Brazilian women writers 20th-century Brazilian short story writers Members of the Legislative Assembly of Guanabara Brazilian people of Portuguese descent 20th-century Brazilian poets Brazilian women short story writers Brazilian columnists Brazilian women in politics Brazilian Socialist Party politicians Brazilian women columnists 20th-century Brazilian journalists 20th-century Brazilian women journalists