Ruy de Moura Belo (27 February 1933, in São João da Ribeira – 8 August 1978 in Queluz) was a Portuguese poet and essayist. He is considered one of the most famous

existentialists Existentialism is a family of philosophy, philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an Authenticity (philosophy), authentic life despite the apparent Absurdity#The Absurd, absurdity or incomprehensibili ...

of the twentieth century in Portuguese-speaking countries. Ruy Belo also worked as a translator. Born in the small community of São João da Ribeira, near Rio Maior, Ruy Belo began to study law at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

Law in 1952. He finished his law degree in 1956 at the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

. He then studied canon law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Belo earned a doctorate in the same subject soon afterward, with a thesis entitled ''Ficção Literária e Censura Eclesiástica'', regarding German literary fiction and religious censorship. During his stay in Rome, Ruy Belo was also a member of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

organization

Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Its stated mission is to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies. Opus Dei is officially r ...

. In 1961, Ruy Belo quit

, and published his first poetry book, ''Aquele Grande Rio Eufrates''. After returning to Portugal, Ruy Belo worked as Assistant Director of Department in the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, a function he resigned for political reasons when he was going to be appointed as Director. In June 2003, a statue of Ruy Belo was erected in the Parque dos Poetas in Oeiras.

Works

Poetry

* ''Aquele Grande Rio Eufrates'' (1961) * ''O Problema da Habitação – Alguns Aspectos'' (1962) * ''Boca Bilingue'' (1966) * ''Homem de Palavra(s)'' (1969) * ''País Possível'' (1973) * ''Transporte no Tempo'' (1973) * ''A Margem da Alegria'' (1974) * ''Toda a Terra'' (1976) * ''Despeço-me da Terra da Alegria'' (1978)

Essays

* ''Poesia Nova'' (1961) * ''Na Senda da Poesia'' (1969)

Translations

* ''Piloto de Guerra'' (

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...

) * ''Cidadela'' (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) * ''Moravagine'' (

Blaise Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars (), was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European ...

) * ''Poemas Escolhidos'' (

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

) * ''Dona Rosinha a Solteira ou a Linguagem das Flores'' (

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Belo, Ruy 1933 births 1978 deaths People from Queluz, Portugal Existentialists Christian existentialists Opus Dei members Portuguese male essayists 20th-century Portuguese poets Portuguese male poets Portuguese Roman Catholics 20th-century Portuguese translators 20th-century Portuguese essayists 20th-century Portuguese male writers Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni