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Casimiro José Marques de Abreu (January 4, 1839 – October 18, 1860) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and playwright, adept of the " Ultra-Romanticism" 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 literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...
. 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 ** Por ...
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. 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 ...
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 the ...
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 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'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 crit ...
'' 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 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 sto ...
. 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 w ...
, Casimiro moved to
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 ...
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