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Agustina Bessa-Luís Portugal
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Agustina
Bessa-Luís was born in 1922 near Amarante (in the Douro region) in the North of
Portugal. Her childhood and youth were influenced by the Douro river landscape,
which she describes repeatedly in her later work. She is one of Portugal’s most
outstanding novelists with over fourty published novels. In 2004 she was
awarded the most important literary prize of the Portuguese speaking world, the
Prémio Camões.
In 1954 Bessa-Luís became
famous with the novel A Sibila (“The
Sibyl”) which draws a realistic portrait of the rural population of northern
Portugal in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Considerable
psychological astuteness and analytical acuity make this novel a masterpiece of
Portuguese literature.
In her novels the sexes are
separated by traditional gulfs, though these are frequently traversed. The
female figures act according to intuition and stand for preservation and
permanence. By contrast, the men are interested in bringing about change and
accelerating time.
The author’s language and
narrative technique are reminiscent of Camilo Castelo Branco, the great
nineteenth century Portuguese writer. In addition to sensitively portraying
characters, Agustina focuses mainly on social and political change in northern
Portugal.
Several of her novels have
been filmed by the Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira:Vale Abraão (“Abraham’s Valley”), As terras do risco (“The Lands of Risk”) as well as Fanny Owen. Agustina Bessa-Luís has
also written film scripts (Party) and
theatre plays.
Between 1986-87 she was
editor of the newspaper O Primeiro de
Janeiro (Porto). From 1990 to 1993 she directed the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II
in Lisbon.
Since the 1960s she has
been a member of numerous national and international academies and writers’
associations. Her works have been translated into many languages and she has
been awarded important literary prizes.
Prémio Camões 2004
Represented in all languages, except French
Original editions (selection) and rights sold:
Contos
impopulares, Lisbon: Guimarães 1951-53, 208
p.
Spain: Alianza 1982
A Sibila, Lisbon:
Guimarães 1954, 256 p.
Brazil: Planeta ● France: Gallimard 1982 ● Germany: Suhrkamp 1987 ● Italy: Giunti 1989 ● Spain: Alfaguara 1981 ● Romania:
Univers 1986
Fanny Owen, Lisbon: Guimarães 1979, 224 p.
Film adaptation by Manoel
de Oliveira
France: Actes Sud 1988 ● Germany: Suhrkamp 1987 ● Italy: Besa ● Spain: Grijalbo 1988
O sermão do
fogo, 1963,Guimarães 1995 222 p.
O mosteiro, Lisbon: Guimarães 1980, 296 p.
France: Métailié 1994
A bela portuguesa 1986
Germany: Radio play
adaptation 1991
Dentes de rato, Lisbon:
Guimarães 1987, 64 p.
Spain: Alfaguara 1990
A corte do norte, Lisbon:
Guimarães 1987, 276 p.
France: Métailié 1991
Vale Abraão, Lisbon: Guimarães 1991, 308 p.
Film adaptation by Manoel
de Oliveira
Brazil: Planeta 2005 ● Brazil: Globo TV 2008 ● Greece: Kastaniotis 1996
Estados
eróticos imediatos de Sören Kierkegaard, Lisbon:
Guimarães 1992, 96 p.
Denmark: Ørby 1994
As terras do
risco, Lisbon: Guimarães 1994,
288 p.
Film adaptation by Manoel
de Oliveira
France: Métailié 1996
Um cão que sonha, Lisbon: Guimarães 1997, 328 p.
France: Métailié 2000
Trilogy:
O princípio da
incerteza, Lisbon: Guimarães
Jóia de familia, 2001, 345 p.
France: Métailié 2002
A alma dos ricos, 2002, 345 p.
Os espaços em
branco, 2003