Jorge Leal Amado de Faria (10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

school. He remains the best known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, notably ''

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands ''Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands'' ( pt, Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos) is a 1976 Brazilian comedy film directed by Bruno Barreto. Based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Jorge Amado, it takes place in 1940s Bahia and has Sônia Braga, José ...

'' in 1976. His work reflects the image of a

Mestiço Mestiço is a Portuguese term that referred to persons born from a couple in which one was an aboriginal person and the other a European. Mestiço community in Brazil in Colonial Brazil, it was initially used to refer to , persons born from ...

Brazil and is marked by religious syncretism. He depicted a cheerful and optimistic country that was beset, at the same time, with deep social and economic differences. He occupied the 23rd 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 ...

from 1961 until his death in 2001. He won the 1984 International Nonino Prize in Italy. He also was

Federal Deputy The Chamber of Deputies ( pt, Câmara dos Deputados) is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year ...

for

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

as a member of the

Brazilian Communist Party The Brazilian Communist Party ( pt-BR, Partido Comunista Brasileiro), originally the Communist Party of Brazil (), is a communist party in Brazil founded on 25 March 1922 which makes the disputed claim of being the oldest political party stil ...

between 1947 and 1951.

Biography

Amado was born on Saturday, 10 August 1912, on a farm near the inland city of

Itabuna Itabuna is a municipality in Bahia, Brazil. It is the 6th largest city in Bahia by population after Salvador, Feira de Santana, Camaçari, Vitória da Conquista, and Juazeiro. It had an estimated 214,123 residents in 2021. Itabuna covers a tota ...

, in the south of the Brazilian state of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

. He was the eldest of four sons of João Amado de Faria and D. Eulália Leal. The farm was located in the village of Ferradas, which, though today is a district of Itabuna, was at the time administered by the coastal city of

Ilhéus Ilhéus () is a major city located in the southern coastal region of Bahia, Brazil, 211 km south of Salvador, Brazil, Salvador, the state's capital. The city was founded in 1534 as Vila de São Jorge dos Ilhéus and is known as one of the mos ...

. For this reason he considered himself a citizen of Ilhéus. From his exposure to the large

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 of the area, Amado knew the misery and the struggles of the people working the land and living in almost enslaved conditions. This was to be a theme present in several of his works (for example, ''

The Violent Land ''The Violent Land'' (Portuguese: ''Terras do Sem Fim'') is a Brazilian Modernist novel written by Jorge Amado in 1943 and published in English in 1945. It describes the battles to develop cacao plantations in the forests of the Bahia state of ...

'' of 1944). As a result of a smallpox epidemic, his family moved to Ilhéus when he was one year old, and he spent his childhood there. He attended 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'' ( ...

, the capital of the state. By the age of 14 Amado had begun to collaborate with several magazines and took part in literary life, as one of the founders of the Modernist "Rebels' Academy". He was the cousin of Brazilian lawyer, writer, journalist and politician Gilberto Amado, and of Brazilian actress and screenwriter

Véra Clouzot Véra Gibson-Amado, known professionally as Véra Clouzot, (30 December 1913 – 15 December 1960) was a Brazilian-France, French film actress and screenwriter. She is known for playing Linda in ''The Wages of Fear'' (1953), Christina Delas ...

. Amado published his first novel, ''

The Country of Carnival ''The Country of Carnival'' (Portuguese: ''O País do Carnaval'') is a 1931 novel by Brazilian writer Jorge Amado. In this debut novel, the themes that would come to permeate the author's work can already be seen, albeit in an embryonic form. T ...

'', in 1931, at age 18. He married Matilde Garcia Rosa and had a daughter, Lila, in 1933. The same year he published his second novel, ''

Cacau Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto (born 27 March 1981), known as Cacau (, ), is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Brazil, he represented Germany at international level. Cacau received German citizenship in February 20 ...

'', which increased his popularity. He studied law at the

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Faculty of Law The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Faculty of Law (Portuguese: ''Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro'' (UFRJ)), also known as the National Faculty of Law (Portuguese: ''Faculdade Nacional de Direito''), is a law ...

but never became a practising lawyer. His leftist activities made his life difficult under the dictatorial regime of

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

. In 1935 he was arrested for the first time, and two years later his books were publicly burned. His works were banned from Portugal, but in the rest of Europe he gained great popularity with the publication of ''

Jubiabá ''Jubiabá'' () is a Brazilian modernist novel written by Jorge Amado in 1935. It earned Amado an international reputation, being hailed by Albert Camus as “a magnificent and haunting” book. Begun in 1934 in Conceição da Feira in Bahia, wh ...

'' in France. The book received enthusiastic reviews, including that of

Nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

Award winner

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

. In the early 1940s, Amado edited a literary supplement for the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

-funded political newspaper "Meio-Dia". Being a communist militant, from 1941 to 1942 Amado was compelled to go into exile to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. When he returned to Brazil he separated from Matilde Garcia Rosa. In 1945 he was elected to the National Constituent Assembly, as a representative of the

(PCB) (he received more votes than any other candidate in the state of

). He signed a law granting freedom of religious faith. He remarried in 1945, to the writer Zélia Gattai. In 1947 they had a son, João Jorge. The same year his party was declared illegal, and its members arrested and persecuted. Amado chose exile once again, this time in France, where he remained until he was expelled in 1950. His daughter from his first marriage, Lila, died in 1949. From 1950 to 1952 Amado and Gattai lived in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, where another daughter, Paloma, was born. He also travelled to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, winning the

Stalin Peace Prize The International Lenin Peace Prize (russian: международная Ленинская премия мира, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a pane ...

in 1951. Recently released documents show that in this period he was investigated by the CIA. On his return to Brazil in 1954, Amado abandoned active political life, leaving the Communist Party one year later. From that period on he dedicated himself solely to literature. His second creative phase began in 1958 with ''

Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon ''Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon'' ( pt, Gabriela, cravo e canela) is a Brazilian modernist novel. It was written by Jorge Amado in 1958 and published in English in 1962. It is widely considered one of his finest works. A film adaptation of the ...

'', which was described by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

as "the best example of a folk novel". Amado abandoned, in part, the realism and the social themes of his early works, producing a series of novels focusing mainly on feminine characters, devoted to a kind of smiling celebration of the traditions and the beauties of Bahia. In addition to ''Gabriela'' these novels included ''Tereza Batista: Home from the Wars'' and ''Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands''. His depiction of the sexual customs of his land was scandalous to much of 1950s Brazilian society and for several years Amado could not even enter

, where ''Gabriela'' was set, due to threats received for the alleged offense to the morality of the city's women. The Soviet Union kept publishing Amado's works shortly after their release in Portuguese. On 6 April 1961, he was elected to the

. On his death his wife was elected to replace him. Amado made the Academy the setting for one of his novels, '' Pen, Sword, Camisole''. He received the title of Doctor ''honoris causa'' from several universities in Brazil, Portugal, Italy,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and France, as well as other honors in almost every South American country, including ''Obá de Xangô'' (santoon) of the

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...

, the traditional Afro-Brazilian religion of Bahia. He was finally removed from the French Government blacklist in 1965 following the intervention of the then Minister of Culture,

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed by P ...

. In 1984 he was awarded the French

Légion d’Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

by President

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

Amado's popularity as a writer has never declined. His books have been translated into 49 languages in 55 countries, and adapted into films, theatrical works and TV programs. They even inspired some

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

schools of the

Brazilian Carnival The Carnival of Brazil ( pt, Carnaval do Brasil, ) is an annual Brazilian festival held the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter. During Lent, Roman Catholics and so ...

. In 1987, the ''House of Jorge Amado Foundation'' was created in Salvador. It promotes the protection of Amado's estate and the development of culture in

. The recently renovated building on the

Pelourinho The Historic Center ( US) or Centre ( UK; pt, Centro Histórico) of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil, also known as the Pelourinho (Portuguese for "Pillory") or Pelo, is a historic neighborhood in western Salvador, Bahia. It was the city's cent ...

in Salvador contains a small museum and wall panels with the covers of international editions of his books. Amado died on Monday, 6 August 2001, at 7:30 PM (22:30 GMT). His ashes were spread in the garden of his house four days later. In 4 December 2014 he received (posthumously) from the

Legislative Assembly of Bahia The Legislative Assembly of Bahia ( pt, Assembleia Legislativa da Bahia) is the unicameral legislature of Bahia state in Brazil, it's currently based on Administrative Center of Bahia in Salvador. It has 63 state deputies elected by proportiona ...

appointment as Commander of Meritorious Citizen of the Freedom and Social Justice João Mangabeira (CBJM), due to his work in defense of social rights, the State's highest honor.

Works

Selected works include: * ''

'' (''O País do Carnaval'', 1931) * ''

'' (1933) * ''

Sweat Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distribut ...

'' (''Suor'', 1934) * ''

'' (1935) * ''

Sea of Death ''Sea of Death'' (Portuguese: ''Mar Morto'') is a Brazilian Modernist novel written by Jorge Amado. Amado wrote the novel in response to his first arrest for "being a communist". The novel follows the lives of poor sailors around Bahia, and thei ...

'' (''Mar Morto'', 1936) * ''

Captains of the Sands ''Captains of the Sands'' ( pt, Capitães da Areia) is a Brazilian novel written by Jorge Amado in 1937. The novel tells of a gang of one hundred street children. Their ages range from seven to sixteen and they live by begging, gambling, steal ...

'' (''Capitães da Areia'', 1937) * ''

The ABC of Castro Alves ''The ABC of Castro Alves'' ( pt, ABC de Castro Alves) is a biography of Brazilian poet Castro Alves written by Jorge Amado and first published in 1941. There is no English version. Summary Antônio Frederico de Castro Alves was a Brazilian poe ...

'' (''ABC de Castro Alves'', 1941) * ''

The Knight of Hope ''The Knight of Hope'' or ''The Life of Luis Carlos Prestes'' (Portuguese: ''O Cavaleiro da Esperança'' ''ou Vida de Luis Carlos Prestes'') is a 1942 book by Jorge Amado, a biography of the well-known Brazilian revolutionary Luis Carlos Prestes ...

'' (''Vida de Luis Carlos Prestes'' or ''O Cavaleiro da Esperança'', 1942) * ''

'' (''Terras do Sem Fim'', 1943) * ''

The Golden Harvest ''The Golden Harvest'' (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''São Jorge dos Ilhéus'') is a Brazilian Modernist novel. It was written by Jorge Amado from 1942 to 1944, published in Portuguese in 1944 and in English in 1992. Background ''The Golden ...

'' (''São Jorge dos Ilhéus'', 1944) * '' Bahia de Todos-os-santos'' (1945) * ''

Red Field ''Red Field'' (Portuguese: ''Seara Vermelha'') is a Brazilian Modernist novel. It was written by Jorge Amado. It has not been published in English. Background Jorge Amado published ''Red Field'' in 1946. In 1945, Brazil had entered a period of ...

'' (''Seara Vermelha'', 1946) * ''

The Bowels of Liberty ''The Bowels of Liberty'' ( Portuguese: ''Os Subterrâneos da Liberdade'') is a trilogy of Brazilian Modernist novels written by Jorge Amado in 1954. The trilogy comprises ''Bitter Times'' (''Os ásperos tempos''), ''Agony of Night'' (''Agonia da ...

'' trilogy (''Os Subterrâneos da Liberdade'', 1954) * ''

'' (''Gabriela, Cravo e Canela'', 1958) * '' The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray'' (''A Morte e a Morte de Quincas Berro D'agua'', 1959) * '' Home Is the Sailor'' (''Os Velhos Marinheiros ou o Capitão de Longo Curso'', 1961) * ''Ogum's Compadre'' (''O compadre de Ogum'', 1964) * ''

Shepherds of the Night ''Shepherds of the Night'' ( Portuguese: ''Os Pastores da Noite'') is a Brazilian novel. It was written by Jorge Amado in 1964 and published in English in 1967. ''Shepherds of the Night'' is really three long, interrelated short stories, sharing ...

'' (''Os Pastores da Noite'', 1964) * ''

'' (''Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos'', 1966) * '' Tent of Miracles'' (''Tenda dos Milagres'', 1969) * '' Tereza Batista: Home from the Wars'' (''Teresa Batista Cansada da Guerra'', 1972) * ''The Swallow and the Tomcat: A Love Story'' (''O Gato Malhado e a Andorinha Sinhá: uma história de amor'', 1976) * ''

Tieta ''Tieta'' (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Tieta do Agreste'', lit. "''Tieta from Agreste''") is a novel written by the Brazilian author Jorge Amado, published on August 17, 1977. Set in the 1970s, it narrates the return of Tieta to the remo ...

'' (''Tieta do Agreste'', 1977) * '' Pen, Sword, Camisole (''Farda Fardão Camisola de Dormir'', 1979) * ''

Showdown A showdown is a duel. The term may also refer to: Places * Showdown Ski Area, in Montana, United States Books * ''Showdown'' (Amado novel), a 1984 novel by Jorge Amado * ''Showdown'' (Dekker novel), a 2006 novel by Ted Dekker * ''Showdown'' (F ...

'' (''Tocaia Grande'', 1984) * ''

The War of the Saints ''The War of the Saints'' (Portuguese: ''O Sumiço da Santa'') is a Brazilian Modernist novel by Jorge Amado first published in 1988. An English translation by Gregory Rabassa appeared in 1993. The novel The novel, which takes place within ...

'' (''O Sumiço da Santa'', 1988) * ''

Coasting Coasting may refer to: * Coasting (vehicle), performing a natural deceleration of a motor when the power is removed * Carrying out a part of a spaceflight without orbital maneuver * Sledding * Performing ovarian hyperstimulation without inducing ...

'' (''Navegação de Cabotagem'', 1992) * ''

The Discovery of America by the Turks ''The Discovery of America by the Turks'' (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''A Descoberta da América pelos Turcos'') is a Brazilian Modernist novel. It was written by Jorge Amado in 1994 but not published in English until 2012. Amado tells how, ...

'' (''A Descoberta da América pelos Turcos'', 1994)

References

External links

*
Jorge Amado's Biography

Jorge Amado's Ilhéus

Extensive Info and New Editions
*
Jorge Amado
recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division's audio literary archive on 8 August 1977. {{DEFAULTSORT:Amado, Jorge 1912 births 2001 deaths Brazilian socialists Brazilian communists 20th-century Brazilian dramatists and playwrights Brazilian male dramatists and playwrights Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters People from Ilhéus Stalin Peace Prize recipients Brazilian Communist writers Modernist writers 20th-century Brazilian novelists Brazilian male novelists Brazilian science fiction writers Camões Prize winners Brazilian expatriates in Czechoslovakia 20th-century Brazilian male writers Brazilian memoirists Brazilian Communist Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from São Paulo 20th-century memoirists