Soeiro Pereira Gomes

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Joaquim Soeiro Pereira Gomes (14 April 1909 - (?) 1949) was a Portuguese writer of realist influence and became one of the major names of Portuguese literature of the 20th century. Pereira Gomes is, along with Alves Redol, the biggest name of the Portuguese neo-realist movement. He was also a communist militant and that was always present in its work, the Portuguese Communist Party headquarters (Soeiro Pereira Gomes Building), in Lisbon, are named after him.

[edit] Life

Soeiro was born in Gestaçô, Porto, son of two farmers, because of that he studied in the Agricultural School in Coimbra, after finishing his studies he emigrated to Angola where he worked for one year before returning to Portugal. He then settled in Alhandra, working in the local cement plant, where he developed an intense campaign of cultural dynamization among the workers.

But what really made him remarkable was his work as a writer and his influence among the Portuguese socialist realism. In 1939, with only 20 years, he started publishing his first texts in the weekly newspaper 'O Diabo'.

Among his major works are two romances of deep social criticism and several stories that are an exaltation of Communism and communist militance.

As a member of the Portuguese Communist Party, Soeiro was member of the Central Committee and was forced to live in clandestine condition due to the repression of the Portuguese Fascist regime, because of such dangerous and precarious living conditions, Soeiro developed tuberculosis and died victim of it, being unable to receive the medical help that he needed.

His major work is Esteiros, published in 1941 featuring many drawings by Álvaro Cunhal, dedicated to the 'Sons of the men who were never a child ' is the story of a lower-class group of boys that due to their social status were forced to work in a small brick plant instead of studying, mainly it is a harsh critic of the dominant social system and its countless unfairnesses.