Adonias Aguiar Filho (November 27, 1915 – August 2, 1990) was a novelist, essayist, journalist, and literary critic from Bahia, Brazil, and a member of the

Academia Brasileira de Letras The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literature, literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its found ...

Life

Filho was born in Itajuípe, Brazil, the son of Adonias Aguiar and Rachel Bastos de Aguiar. In 1936, 2 years after finishing high school in

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

, he moved from the south of Bahia to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s capital at the time, where he continued his career in Journalism, previously started in Salvador. He worked for well known newspapers such as '' Correio da Manhã'' and ''Revista do Brazil''. He was also a

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

for ''Cadernos da "Hora Presente"'', from São Paulo in 1937, ''A Manhã'', from 1944 to 1945, along with ''Jornal de Letras'' (from 1955 to 1960) and ''Diário de Notícias'' (from 1958 to 1960). In São Paulo, he also collaborated with '' O Estado de S. Paulo'' and ''Folha da Manhã''. Between 1946 and 1950, he ran the book publishing company "A Noite". He was the director of the Serviço Nacional de Teatro, in 1954, and director of the Biblioteca Nacional from 1961 to 1971. At the same time, he worked for the at the Ministério da Justiça. In 1966, he was elected vice-president of the (ABI) and in the following year, he became a member of the Conselho Federal de Cultura (CFC). He was re-elected in 1969, 1971 and 1973. He was the president of the ABI in 1972 and president of the CFC from 1977 to 1990, when he died. As a writer, Adonias Aguiar Filho searched for inspiration for his fiction in the "zona cacaueira" (

Cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

plantations) close to Ilhéus, back to his origins in the South of Bahia, where he was born and raised. This ambiance is well displayed in his first novel, ''Os servos da morte'' (The Servants of Death), published in 1946. In the form of the romance novel, reality served as an opportunity to recreate a world charged with symbolism, in the situations as well as in the characters, bearing witness to a tragic sense of life and worldview. He was part of the , a literary society devoted to spirituality and Catholic tradition. The use of original stylistic features, reflective of the internal violence of his characters gave him a fundamental place in the literary generation that created the 3rd phase of Brazilian Modernism in 1945, which was based on a return to more normal disciplines of writing. They were concerned about writing with less formal research, while broadening their regional meanings to apply universally. Their work still has a significant influence on contemporary Brazilian literature and fiction. He was honored with the 21st chair at the Brazilian Academy of Letters (

) at the age of 53, May 23, 1969. The title was handed to him by his fellow writer from Bahia, Jorge Amado. His literary work has been translated into English, German, Spanish, French and Slovak. He died in Ilhéus, shortly after his wife did.

Academia Brasileira de Letras

Fifth holder of the 21st Chair, originally held by Joaquim Serra; elected January 14, 1965. Preceded by ; Followed by Dias Gomes

Bibliography

* Renascimento do homem - essay (1937) * Tasso da Silveira e o tema da poesia eterna - essay (1940) * ''Memórias de Lázaro'' - novel (1952) * Jornal de um escritor (1954) * Modernos ficcionistas brasileiros - essay (1958) * Cornélio Pena - critique (1960) * ''Corpo vivo'' - novel (1962) * História da Bahia - essay (1963) * O bloqueio cultural - essay (1964) * ''O forte'' - novel (1965) * ''Léguas da promissão'' -

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

(1968) * O romance brasileiro de crítica - critique (1969) * Luanda Beira Bahia - novel (1971) * O romance brasileiro de 30 - critique (1973) * Uma nota de cem – children’s literature (1973) * ''As velhas'' - novel (1975) * ''Fora da pista'' - children’s literature (1978) * ''O Largo da Palma'' -

(1981) * Auto de Ilhéus – theater (1981) * ''Noites sem madrugada'' - novel (1983). * ''O Homem de branco'' - novel (1987).

Awards

Adonias Filho was awarded: * Prêmio Paula Brito de crítica literária (Guanabara, 1968), for the book "Léguas da promissão", * Golfinho de Ouro de Literatura (1968), * Prêmio PEN Clube do Brasil, * Prêmio da Fundação Educacional do Paraná (FUNDEPAR) * Prêmio do Instituto Nacional do Livro (1968–1969) * Prêmio Brasília de Literatura (1973), from Fundação Cultural do Distrito Federal. *

Premio Nacional de Literatura A National Prize for Literature ( es, Premio Nacional de Literatura) is a kind of award offered by various countries. Examples include: * National Prize for Literature (Argentina) * National Literary Awards, Burma * National Prize for Literature ( ...

(1975), from Instituto Nacional do Livro, in the category published work (1974–1975), with the romance novel "As velhas", and * Title of Doctor

Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

by the Universidade Federal da Bahia, in 1983.

External links

Adonias na Academia Brasileira

e-biografias

Encyclopædia Britannica

Adonius Aguiar Filho recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division’s audio literary archive on December 13, 1977
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filho, Adonias People from Bahia 1915 births 1990 deaths Brazilian male dramatists and playwrights Brazilian male novelists Brazilian literary critics Brazilian essayists 20th-century Brazilian novelists 20th-century Brazilian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century essayists 20th-century Brazilian male writers