Mia Couto

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Mia Couto, pron. IPA: ['mi.ɐ 'ko.tʊ] (b.5 July 1955 Beira, Mozambique), is a Mozambican author. His works in Portuguese have been published in more than 22 countries and have been widely translated. Couto was born António Emílio Leite Couto to white Portuguese settlers in 1955, during the colonial period. Aside from his native Portuguese, he also speaks Ndau and English as second languages.

An international jury at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair called his first novel, Terra Sonâmbula (Sleepwalking Land), "one of the best 12 African books of the 20th century."^[1]

In April 2007, he became the first African author to win the prestigious Prémio União Latina de Literaturas Românticas, which has been awarded annually in Italy since 1990. ^[2] Mia Couto became only the fourth writer in the Portuguese language to take home the 12,000 euro prize and in so doing competed against authors from Portugal, France, Colombia, Spain, Italy, and Senegal.

Stylistically, his writing is heavily influenced by magical realism, a style popular in modern Latin American literature, and his use of language is inventive and reminiscent of Guimarães Rosa.

[edit] Books

Raiz do Orvalho (poetry, 1983)
Vozes Anoitecidas (short stories, 1986). [Voices made night. Translated by David Brookshaw. (1990) ISBN 0435905708]
Cada Homem É uma Raça (short stories, 1990) ISBN 9722100718
Cronicando (crônicas, 1991) ISBN 972210585X
Terra Sonâmbula (novel, 1992) ISBN 9722107909 [Sleepwalking land. Translated by David Brookshaw. (2006) ISBN 185242897X]
Estórias Abensonhadas (short stories, 1994) ISBN 9722109332
Every man is a race [Translation of selected works from: Cada homem é uma raça, and Cronicando; translated by David Brookshaw] (1994) ISBN 0435909827
A Varanda do Frangipani (novel, 1996) ISBN 9722110500 [Under the frangipani. Translated by David Brookshaw. (2001) ISBN 0864863780]
Contos do Nascer da Terra (short stories, 1997)
Mar Me Quer (novella, 1998)
Vinte e Zinco (novella, 1999) ISBN 9722112503
Raiz de orvalho e outros poemas (1999) ISBN 972211302X
O Último Voo do Flamingo (novel, 2000) ISBN 9722113348
Mar me quer (2000)
O Gato e o Escuro (children's book, 2001)
Na Berma de Nenhuma Estrada e Outros Contos (short stories, 2001)
Um Rio Chamado Tempo, uma Casa Chamada Terra (novel, 2002)
Contos do Nascer da Terra (short stories, 2002)
O País do Queixa Andar (crônicas, 2003)
O Fio das Missangas (short stories, 2003)
A chuva pasmada (2004) ISBN 9722116541
Pensatempos: textos de opinião (2005) ISBN 9722116878
O Outro Pé da Sereia (novel, 2006) ISBN 9722117955