Casimiro José Marques de Abreu (January 4, 1839 – October 18, 1860) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and playwright, adept of the "

Ultra-Romanticism Ultra-Romanticism ( pt, Ultrarromantismo) was a Portuguese and Brazilian literary movement that took place during the second half of the 19th. Aesthetically similar to (but not exactly the same as) the German- and British-originated Dark Romanticis ...

" movement. He is famous for the poem "Meus oito anos". He is patron of the 6th chair of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters 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 ...

. In 1999 Casimiro de Abreu's headstone was broken by an unnamed person

Life

Casimiro de Abreu was born on January 4, 1839, in the city of Barra de São João (renamed "Casimiro de Abreu" in his honor in 1925), to rich

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

farmers José Joaquim Marques de Abreu and Luísa Joaquina das Neves. He received only a basic education at Instituto Freeze, in

Nova Friburgo Nova Friburgo (, ger, Neufreiburg, , en, New Fribourg, commonly referred to as just "Friburgo") is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil. It is located in the mountainous region, in the Center Mesoregion of the stat ...

, where he met and befriended

Pedro Luís Pereira de Sousa Pedro Luís Pereira de Sousa (December 13, 1839 – July 16, 1884) was a Brazilian poet, politician, orator and lawyer, adept of the " Condorist" movement. He is the patron of the 31st chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Life Pedro Luís ...

. Following orders of his father, he moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in 1852 to dedicate himself to commerce, an activity which he hated. With his father, he travelled to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in 1853. There he began his literary career, writing for many newspapers (such as ''O Progresso'' and ''Ilustração Luso-Brasileira'') and collaborating with

Alexandre Herculano Alexandre Herculano de Carvalho e Araújo (28 March 181013 September 1877) was a Portuguese novelist and historian. Early life Herculano's family had humble origins. One of his grandfathers was a foreman stonemason in the royal employ. Herculan ...

and Luís Augusto Rebelo da Silva, among others. During his stay in Portugal, he wrote his first works: the theater play '' Camões e o Jau'' (influenced by

Almeida Garrett João Baptista da Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett, 1st Viscount of Almeida Garrett (; 4 February 1799 – 9 December 1854) was a Portuguese poet, orator, playwright, novelist, journalist, politician, and a peer of the realm. A major promoter of t ...

's poem ''Camões''), the novel ''Carolina'', published under ''

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criti ...

'' form, and the first chapters of a novel which he would never finish: ''Camila''. In 1857, he returned to Rio, where he became a collaborator for the newspapers ''A Marmota'', ''O Espelho'', ''Revista Popular'' and ''Correio Mercantil''. While working for the latter, he met

Manuel Antônio de Almeida Manuel Antônio de Almeida (November 17, 1831 – November 28, 1861) was a Brazilian satirical writer, medician and teacher. He is famous for the book '' Memoirs of a Police Sergeant'', written under the pen name Um Brasileiro ( en, A Brazilian ...

and

Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...

. In 1859, he published his most famous work, the poetry book ''As Primaveras'' (''Springtimes''). Its publication was financed by his father, although he disapproved Casimiro's literary vocation. Suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, Casimiro moved to

in order to recover, but he died at age 21 on October 18, 1860.

Works

* ''Camões e o Jau'' (1856) * ''Carolina'' (1856) * ''Camila'' (unfinished novel — 1856) * ''A Virgem Loura: Páginas do Coração'' (1857) * '' As Primaveras'' (1859)

External links

Casimiro de Abreu's biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abreu, Casimiro de 1839 births 1860 deaths Brazilian male poets Romantic poets Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters People from Rio de Janeiro (state) 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Portuguese-language writers 19th-century Brazilian poets 19th-century Brazilian dramatists and playwrights Tuberculosis deaths in Rio de Janeiro (state) Brazilian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Brazilian male writers