Luís José Junqueira Freire (December 31, 1832 – June 24, 1855) was a Brazilian poet and Benedictine

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

, 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 and author of ''Inspirações do Claustro''. He is the patron of the 25th 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 ...

Biography

Luís José Junqueira Freire was born December 31, 1832, 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'' ( ...

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 ...

, to José Vicente de Sá Freire and Felicidade Augusta Junqueira. After completing his primary studies and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, he was matriculated at the Liceu Provincial of Salvador in 1849. Two years later, he joined the

Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

by family reasons. Although unsatisfacted living at the monastery, there he could write and read poetry, and served as a teacher. He demanded his

secularity Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

in 1853, and, one year later, having obtained it, he refugiated at home, where he wrote his short ''Autobiography''. Shortly before dying, on June 24, 1855, due to heart problems he had since his childhood, Freire published the poetry anthology he wrote during his years at the Benedictines' monastery, called ''Inspirações do Claustro'' (in en, Cloister Inspirations). The poems of it speak mostly of the solitude Freire suffered at the monastery, and also another subjects, such as

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...

horror; repressed desires who disturbed him and increased in him the wish to sin; the Brazilian

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

; revolts against rules, the world and himself; obsession by death, and the ''

mal du siècle ''Mal du siècle'' (, "sickness of the century") is a term used to refer to the ennui, disillusionment, and melancholy experienced by primarily young adults of Europe's early 19th century, when speaking in terms of the rising Romantic movement. ...

''. Some of Freire's poems have slight

Abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

traits; because of that, some critics consider him a forerunner of the Condorism. He was among the first poets in Brazil to write homoerotic verses.

Works

* ''Autobiografia'' (''Autobiography'' —

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The Teut ...

) * ''Inspirações do Claustro'' (''Cloister Inspirations'' —

1855 Events January–March * January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city. * January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru. * January 23 ** The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens ...

)

External links

''Inspirações do Claustro'' online

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freire, Junqueira 19th-century LGBT people 1832 births 1855 deaths Romantic poets Brazilian autobiographers Portuguese-language writers People from Bahia Brazilian male poets Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters 19th-century Brazilian poets 19th-century Brazilian male writers Brazilian LGBT poets