Rubem Fonseca
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rubem Fonseca (born May 11, 1925) is an important Brazilian writer.
He was born in Juiz de Fora, state of Minas Gerais, on May 11, 1925, but he lived for most of his life in Rio de Janeiro. In 1952, he started his career in the police and became a policy commissioner. Even though, he refuses to do interviews and is a very reclusive person, much like another writers such as Thomas Pynchon, who is a personal friend of Fonseca, he's said to be a very friendly person.
His writing is pretty dark and gritty, filled with violence and sexual content, and it usually happens in a very urban setting. He says that a writer should have the courage to show what most people are afraid to say. His work is considered groundbreaking in Brazilian literature, up until then mostly focused on rural settings and usually treating cities with a very biased point-of-view. Almost all Brazilian contemporary writers acknowledge Fonseca's importance, and quite a few authors from the newer generation, such as Patrícia Melo or Luis Ruffato, say that he's a huge influence.
He started his career with short stories, and they are usually considered to be the best part of his work. His first popular novel was A Grande Arte (High Art), but "Agosto" is usually considered to be his best work.
In 2003, he won the Camões Prize, considered to be the most important award in the Portuguese language.
Contents |
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Brazilians editions
[edit] Novels and novellas
- O caso Morel (1973)
- A grande arte (1983)
- Bufo & Spallanzani (1986)
- Vastas emoções e pensamentos imperfeitos (1988)
- Agosto (1990)
- O selvagem da ópera (1994)
- "Do meio do mundo prostituto só amores guardei ao meu charuto" (1997, novella)
- "O doente Molière" (2000, novella)
- Diário de um Fescenino (2003)
- "Mandrake: A Bíblia e a bengala" (2005, novella)
[edit] Short story collections and anthlogies
- Os prisioneiros (1963)
- A coleira do cão (1965)
- Lúcia McCartney (1967)
- Feliz Ano Novo (1975)
- O homem de fevereiro ou março (1973)
- O cobrador (1979)
- Romance negro e outras histórias (1992)
- Contos reunidos (1994)
- O Buraco na parede (1995)
- Romance negro, Feliz ano novo e outras histórias (1996)
- Histórias de Amor (1997)
- Confraria dos Espadas (1998)
- Secreções, excreções e desatinos (2001)
- Pequenas criaturas (2002)
- 64 contos de Rubem fonseca (2004)
[edit] United States translations
- High art (translation Ellen Watson. Harper & Row, New York, 1986)
- Bufo & Spallanzani (translation Clifford E. Landers. Dutton, New York, 1990)
- Vast emotions and imperfect thoughts (translation Clifford Landers, Ecco Press Publisher, New York, 1998)
[edit] External links
- Short biography, in Portuguese
- Published books, in Portuguese
