José Simões Dias (1844 in Benfeita,

Arganil Arganil () is a town and municipality in Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 12,145, in an area of 332.84 km2. The present mayor is Luís Paulo Costa, elected by the Social Democratic Party. The munic ...

– 3 March 1899 in Lisbon) was a Portuguese

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

short-story writer A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

and

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 ...

, as well as

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

. His poetry is generally affiliated with the later Romantic tradition, sometimes termed

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 ...

, although some of his poems, popular in tone, can be seen to betray an affinity for the Realist aesthetics that was then beginning to blossom in Portuguese letters. As a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

under the

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

of Luís I, he authored the bill that would transform the birthday of Camões (June 10) into

Portugal Day ) , type = National holiday , longtype = National Day , image = EstatuaCamoesLisboa.JPG , caption = Monument to Luís de Camões in Lisbon, Portugal (May 2005) , official_name = ''Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comu ...

, an important national holiday.

References

1844 births 1899 deaths People from Arganil Portuguese literary critics 19th-century Portuguese poets Portuguese male poets 19th-century male writers {{Portugal-poet-stub