José Dias de Melo (April 8, 1925 in

Calheta de Nesquim Calheta de Nesquim is a civil parish, along the southern coast of the municipality of Lajes do Pico, in the Portuguese Azores. The population in 2011 was 343, in an area of 13.81 km2.Lajes - September 24, 2008 in

São José (Ponta Delgada) São José is a freguesia, civil parish in the concelho, municipality of Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel Island, São Miguel in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. It is one of the constituent parts of the city of Ponta Delgada, a ...

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,28 ...

), was an Azorean author and writer.

Biography

He studied in the city of

Horta Horta may refer to: People * Horta (surname), a list of people Places * Horta, Africa, an ancient city and former bishopric in Africa Proconsularis, now in Tunisia and a Latin Catholic titular see * Horta, Azores, Portugal, a municipality an ...

, in the local

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

and primary educational institution, but eventually settled in

after 1949 where he was to marry and begin a family. He completed his courses in teaching in Ponta Delgada, and became a teacher in a preparatory institution before moving on to teach in Cova da Piedade (1976–1977) and

Lajes do Pico Lajes do Pico () is a town and municipality in the central Azores. It is one of three municipalities of the island of Pico. It has 4,342 inhabitants as of 2021, in an area of 155.31 km2. It is bordered by Madalena to the west and by São Roqu ...

(1978–1979). While in Horta he worked for the regional newspapers, including the regional newspapers ''O Telegrafo'', ''Açores'', and ''Ilha'', and the national media ''

Diário de Notícias ''Diário de Notícias'' () is a Portuguese daily newspaper published in Lisbon, Portugal. Established since 1864, the paper is considered a newspaper of record for Portugal. History and profile ''Diário de Notícias'' was first published in ...

'' and ''

Diário de Lisboa The ''Diário de Lisboa'' was a daily evening newspaper published in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon between 1921 and 1990. History The newspaper was founded on 7 April 1921 by Joaquim Manso, who ran it until he died in 1956. He was succeeded b ...

''; during his time in Horta, with other school colleagues, he helped found the Associação Cultural Académica ("Academic Cultural Association") in November, 1944.

Literature

It was during the 1950s, that he would begin his literary career with his book of poems ''Todas do Mar e da Terra'' ("Everything in the Sea and Land"). His contribution to Portuguese culture, is his thirty published works in various styles: poems, narratives, novels, romances, chronicle, monographs, dissertations and studies in the field of ethnography. He captured in his writings the particular culture of mid-century Azorean life, and in particular the experiences of emigrants, the people involved in whaling, and the culture of the island of Pico. A dominant theme in his works was an empathy, or sympathy, for the socially unprotected, the victims of the powers-that-be, and the uncontrollable forces of nature. The book ''Pedras Negras'' ("Dark Stones"), published for the first time in 1954, and now on its 4th edition, was translated into various languages (including English and Japonese). It is considered his best-selling and most accessible work. Writing of this book, Urbano Bettencourt said: :''"in Pedras Negras, Dias de Melo represented island life at the end of the 19th century, whaling and its role in triggering emigration to North America, learning of the world within fierce competition, the inhumanity and solidarity also, the material successes, in the end, proportioned by the loss of abundance."'' Similarly, Vamberto Freitas, wrote how he "registered and/or tranfigured the problematic socio-political and economic situation of the islands, turning them a part of contemporary Portuguese history." The Azorean writer, Cristóvão de Aguiar affirmed that Dias de Melo ''"remains for posterity, a symbol of the man of the sea...his is a whaler's writer that provided a picture in realtime of the whaler's life..."'' But, Dias de Melo also wrote of life in the Azores from the perspectives of the gentrymen, farmer, fisherman, cattlemen and other social classes. Former President of Portugal,

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th presid ...

, bestowed on him the ''Order of the Infante'' for his contribution to literature in Portugal, while the city council of

awarded him an Honorary Citizenship. Similarly, the President of the Regional Government of the Azores presided over a public session that honoured Dias de Melo, which included a new release of his trilogy ''Pedras Negras'', ''Mar Rubro'' and ''Mar Pela Proa''. With over 50 years in literature, he died at the age of 83, in Ponta Delgada on September 24, 2008.

Published works

* Pedras Negras (1964) * Cidade Cinzenta (1971) * Mar pela Proa (1976) * Vinde e Vede (1983) * Vida Vivida em Terras de Baleeiros (1985) * Das Velas de Lona às Asas de Alumínio (1990) * Na Memória das Gentes (1991) * O Menino Deixou de Ser Menino (1992) * Aquém e Além-Canal (1992) * A Viagem do Medo Maior (1993) * Pena Dela Saudades de Mim (1994) * Inverno sem Primavera (1996) * O Autógrafo (1999) * Milhas Contadas (2002) * Poeira do Caminho (2004)

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melo, Jose Dias de 1925 births 2008 deaths Azorean writers