Ana Maria Machado (born 24 December 1941) is a Brazilian writer of

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

, one of the most significant alongside Lygia Bojunga Nunes and

Ruth Rocha Ruth Machado Lousada Rocha (born March 2, 1931 in São Paulo), most known as Ruth Rocha is a Brazilian writer of children's books. Together with Lygia Bojunga, Ana Maria Machado and Eva Furnari she is one of the leading exponents of the new wave ...

. She received the international

Hans Christian Andersen Medal The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". T ...

in 2000 for her "lasting contribution to children's literature".

Life

Machado was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1941. She started her career as a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

in Rio de Janeiro and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. After studying

Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language f ...

she did a PhD with

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popul ...

at the '

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

' in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. She worked as

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

for the magazine '

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the ...

' in Paris and the BBC in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1979, she opened the first children's bookshop in Brazil, 'Malasartes'. In 1969, Ana Maria Machado started to write. "I belong to that generation of writers who began to write during the military dictatorship, as children’s literature, alongside

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

and song texts, were amongst the few literary forms with which, through the poetic and symbolic use of language, you could make the ideas of a

joie de vivre ( , ; "joy of living") is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit. It "can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And ''joie de vivre'' may be ...

, individual freedom and respect for

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

known." Her story ''Menina Bonita do laço de fita'' (1986; translated into English as ''Nina Bonita: A Story'', 2001, ) about a white and a black rabbit who marry and have a whole hoard of black, white and black and white patterned children, is a charming book about the living together of diverse ethnic groups. In 'Era uma vez um tirano' (1982) three children defy a tyrant who has forbidden colour, thoughts and any happiness. Without pointing fingers, Ana Maria Machado always dresses up her messages in humorous stories and trusts the ability of her young readers to also read between the lines. Similar to many Brazilian children's book authors of her generation, Ana Maria Machado is said to be in the tradition of the great children's book author, Jose Bento Monteiro Lobato. Her writing is marked, in the style of "

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

", by a subtle mix of social

satire Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

and fantastic elements as well as a conscious and playful use of language and

narrative structure Narrative structure is a literary element generally described as the structural framework that underlies the order and manner in which a narrative is presented to a reader, listener, or viewer. The narrative text structures are the plot and the ...

s. In 'História meio ao contrário' (1978), Ana Maria Machado turns the classic narrative structure of the fairy tale on its head and lets her story begin with: "And if they didn’t die, then they are still alive today" and end with "once upon a time". In 'Bisa Bia, Bisa Bel' (1982), one of her central works, Isabell's internal dialogue with her dead great-grandmother, Bisa Bia, and her own great-grandchild from the future, Bisa Bel, becomes a magical journey to the invisible connections between the generations, which finally allow Isabell to find her own way. For the author, fantasy also means to expand the sense for space and time and to allow reality and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

to mix with each other. Just as brilliantly in ‘Palavra de Honra’ (2005, Engl: Word of Honour) Machado tells the story of a

Luso-Brazilian Portuguese Brazilians ( pt, luso-brasileiros) are Brazilians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Portugal. Most of the Portuguese who arrived throughout the centuries in Brazil sought economic opportunities. Although present since t ...

family which has become very wealthy since their arrival in the 19th century. The reader encounters Letícia, who tries to reconstruct her own story out of the dispersed remains of the family legacy. Ana Maria Machado lives with her family in Rio de Janeiro.

Awards

The biennial

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". The ...

conferred by the

International Board on Books for Young People The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland. IBBY history In 1952, Jella Lepm ...

is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. Jansson received the writing award in 2000. Ana Maria Machado has written more than hundred books for children and adults in 17 countries for which she has received the most significant Brazilian awards and many international honours.

Selected works

*''Alice e Ulisses'', (novel), 1983 *''Tropical Sol da Liberdade'', (novel), 1988 *''Canteiros de Saturno'', (novel), 1991 *''Aos Quatro Ventos'', (novel), 1993 *''O Mar Nunca Transborda'', (novel), 1995 *''A Audácia dessa Mulher'', (novel), 1999 *''Esta Força Estranha'', (biography), 1998 *''Para Sempre'', (novel), 2001

References

External links

* (Portuguese language)
University of San Francisco School of Education
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machado, Ana Maria 1941 births Brazilian children's writers Brazilian journalists Brazilian women journalists Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Writers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Living people 20th-century Brazilian women writers 21st-century Brazilian women writers 21st-century Brazilian writers Brazilian women children's writers

Life

Awards

Selected works

See also

References

External links