''Luuanda'' is a book by the Angolan writer
José Luandino Vieira
José Luandino Vieira (born José Vieira Mateus da Graça on 4 May 1935) is an Angolan writer of short fiction and novels.
Biography
Vieira was born in Lagoa de Furadouro, Ourém, Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, i ...
published in 1963 by Edições 70 in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
; an English translation by Tamara L. Bender was published by Heinemann (
African Writers Series
The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann (publisher), Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003.
The series has provided an int ...
no. 222) in 1980. The book is a collection of three stories, "Grandma Xíxi and Her Grandson Zeca Santos," "The Tale of the Thief and the Parrot," and "The Tale of the Chicken and the Egg."
''Luuanda'' is a historic book, considered to have been an agent of a break with Portuguese norms in Angolan literature. For its innovative storytelling and charismatic writing, the book was widely applauded upon publication and received two literary prizes, the D. Maria José Abrantes Mota Veiga Prize, given in
Luanda
Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...
in 1964, and the 1st Prize for a Novel awarded by the Portuguese Writers' Society (PWS) in Lisbon in 1965. The publication of ''Luuanda'' and the acclaim it received caused a serious stir in Portugal under
Salazar's rule, leading to the dissolution of the PWS by the regime.
As Margarida Calafate Ribeiro writes in the introduction to her interview with Luandino, "''Luuanda'' gained a place in both Portuguese and Angolan history as a key moment of 'enfrentamento'
onfrontation Its commemoration involves, for us, José Luandino Vieira sharing the history of Luanda."
[Ribeiro, Margarida Calafate. "E agora José, Luandino Vieira? An Interview with José Luandino Vieira." ''Portuguese Literary & Cultural Studies'' 15/16 (2010).]
See also
*
Censorship in Portugal
Censorship was an essential element of Portuguese national culture throughout the country's history up until the Carnation Revolution in 1974. From its earliest history Portugal was subject to laws limiting freedom of expression. This was mai ...
*
Literature of Angola
References
External links
Russell Hamilton on ''Luuanda'' in ''Voices from an Empire: A History of Afro-Portuguese Literature''''Luandino'' Vieira in ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
Angolan novels
Heinemann (publisher) books
African Writers Series
Books by José Luandino Vieira
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