Luis Verissimo
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Luís Fernando Verissimo (born September 26, 1936) is a Brazilian writer. Verissimo is the son of Brazilian writer
Erico Verissimo Érico Lopes Verissimo (December 17, 1905 – November 28, 1975) was an important Brazilian writer, born in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Biography Érico Verissimo was the son of Sebastião Verissimo da Fonseca and Abegahy Lopes Verissimo. ...
and lived with his father in the United States during his childhood. Best known for his ''
crônica ''Crônica'' or ''crónica'' (''chronicle''; see spelling differences in Portuguese) is a Portuguese-language form of short writings about daily topics, published in newspaper or magazine columns. ''Crônicas'' are usually written in an informal, o ...
s'' and texts of humor, more precisely satire of manners, published daily in several Brazilian newspapers, Verissimo is also a cartoonist, translator, and television writer, playwright and novelist. He has also been advertising and newspaper copy desk. He is also a musician, having played saxophone in a few sets. With over 60 published titles, is one of the most popular contemporary Brazilian writers.


Personal life

Verissimo is a great fan of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, and plays saxophone in a band called Jazz 6. Verissimo is fond of football, and a famous
Sport Club Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional Association football, football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série A, the first divisio ...
supporter. He has already written many texts about his passion for football. Verissimo was married to Lúcia Helena Massa in 1964, and the couple has three children: Fernanda, a journalist, Mariana, a writer, and Pedro, a musician. He lives with his wife in Porto Alegre. Born and raised in Porto Alegre, Luis Fernando lived most of his childhood and adolescence in the United States with his family, due to professional commitments undertaken by his father – a professor at
UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
(1943–1945) and cultural director at the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
in Washington (1953–1956). As a result, he attended primary part of San Francisco and Los Angeles, and completed high school at Roosevelt High School in Washington. When he was 14 he produced with his sister, Clarissa, and a cousin, a local periodical with news of family, which was hung in the bathroom of the house and was called "The Patentino" ("patente" is the way toilet are known in Rio Grande do Sul). When he lived in Washington, Verissimo developed his passion for jazz, and started studying saxophone and took frequent trips to New York, attending performances of the greatest musicians of the era, including
Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
and
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
.


Early works

Back in Porto Alegre in 1956, he began working in the art department of
Editora Globo Editora Globo S.A. (Globo Editors) is a Brazilian publishing house, property of Fundação Roberto Marinho. It began as a bookstore called Livraria do Globo, created in Porto Alegre, in December 1883, by Laudelino Pinheiro de Barcellos and Satur ...
. Since 1960, he joined the musical group Renato and his Sextet, which featured dances professionally in the state capital, and was known as "the world's largest sextet," because it had nine members. Between 1962 and 1966, lived in Rio de Janeiro, where he worked as a translator and copywriter, and where he met and married (1963) with the Rio Lucia Helena Massa, his partner today, and mother of his three children (Fernanda, 1964, Mariana, 1967, and Peter, 1970). In 1967, again in his hometown, he began working in the newspaper
Zero Hora ''Zero Hora'' is a Brazilian newspaper based in the city of Porto Alegre, the sixth biggest of the country. It is edited by Grupo RBS. Inquiry on Grupo RBS oligopoly / monopoly practicing The RBS Group is being investigated by the practice of oli ...
, first as a
copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...
(copy desk). In 1969, after covering the holidays of columnist Sergio Jockymann and to showcase the quality and speed of the text, he went on to sign his own daily column in the newspaper. His first columns were about football, addressing the foundation of the Beira-Rio stadium and the games of the Internacional, his club. The same year he became editor of the advertising agency MPM Propaganda. In 1970 he moved to the newspaper Folha da Manhã, where he held his daily column until 1975, writing about sport, cinema, literature, music, food, politics and behavior, always with irony and personal ideas, and short stories of humor which illustrated their views. In 1971 he created the alternative weekly O Pato Macho with a group of friends in the press and publicity in Porto Alegre, with humorous texts, cartoons, stories and interviews, which circulated throughout the year in the city.


Fame in Brazil and the gaucho culture of southern Brazil

In 1981, the book "O Analista de Bagé", launched at the Book Fair of Porto Alegre, sold out its first edition in two days, becoming a bestseller around the country. The character, created (but unused) for a television comedy program with
Jô Soares José Eugênio Soares (16 January 1938 – 5 August 2022), known professionally as Jô Soares (Portuguese: /ˈʒo soˈaɾis, ˈswa-, -ɾiʃ/), or Jô, was a Brazilian comedian, talk show host, author, musician, actor and writer. Early life ...
, is an orthodox Freudian
psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...
, but with the accent, the language and customs typical of the border of Rio Grande do Sul, Uruguay and Argentina . The contradiction between the sophistication of psychoanalysis and "rough" caricature of the
gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...
of the border has generated very funny situations, which Verissimo was able to explore talent in two books of short stories, a comic book (with drawings by Edgar Vasques) and an anthology. In 1982 Verissimo began to publish a weekly page of humor in the magazine
Veja Veja may refer to : Places * Veja, a town in Lazio, central Italy; now Vejano comune * Veja, a village in Stănița Commune, Neamț County, Romania * Veja River, Romania * Veja State, a former princely state in present Gujarat, western India Perso ...
, which would keep until 1989. In 1983, the tenth volume of unpublished chronicles, has launched a new character that would also make great success, A Velhinha de Taubaté ( The Old Lady of
Taubaté Taubaté is a medium-sized city in the State of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. Location Its strategic location between the two most important Brazilian cities (São Paulo away, and Rio de Janeiro away), connected to both by the Presiden ...
), defined as "the only person who still believes in government." The naive character, who gave to his pet cat the name of the spokesman for President-General Figueiredo, marked the decline of the Brazilian military government, which was almost completed 20 years. But years later, in a democracy, Verissimo would revive the Old Lady of Taubaté, mocking the credibility of civilian presidents, especially Fernando Collor and Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Throughout the 1980s, Verissimo has established itself as a phenomenon of popularity rare among Brazilian writers, keeping weekly columns in several newspapers and throwing at least one book a year, always on the bestseller lists, and writing sitcoms for
TV Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV station ...
. In 1986, he lived six months with his family in Rome, and covered the World Cup for Playboy magazine. In 1988, contracted by MPM Propaganda, he wrote his first novel, The Devil's Garden.


New directions

In 1999, Verissimo quit drawing As Cobras comic strips and changed publishers, switching from L&PM to Objetiva, which began republishing all his work. One of these anthologies, "As Mentiras que os Homens Contam" (The Lies that Men Tell) (2000), has sold over 350,000 copies. In 2003, he decided to reduce his workload in the press, from six to just two columns a week, now published in Zero Hora, O Globo and O Estado de São Paulo. From requests generated by publishers, Verissimo ceased to be the "great writer of short texts" and added to his ''oeuvre'' a series of novels and romances: "Gula - O Clube dos Anjos" (The Club of Angels) for the collection "Plenos Pecados" (Complete Sins) of Objetiva (1998), "Borges e os Orangotangos Eternos (Borges and the Eternal Orangutans)" (2000) for the collection "Literatura ou Morte" (Literature or Death) of
Companhia das Letras Companhia das Letras is the largest publishing house in São Paulo, Brazil. It was founded by Luiz Schwarcz and his wife Lilia Moritz Schwarcz in 1986. Companhia das Letras began as a literary publishing house and gradually grew into 17 independent ...
, "O Opositor" (2004) for the collection "Cinco Dedos de Prosa" (Five Fingers of Prose) of Objetiva, "A Décima Segunda Noite" (The Twelfth Night) (2006) for the collection "Devorando Shakespeare" (Devouring Shakespeare), and even "Sport Club Internacional, Autobiografia de uma Paixão" (Autobiography of a Passion) (2004), for the collection "Camisa 13" of Ediouro. In 2003, a cover story in
Veja Veja may refer to : Places * Veja, a town in Lazio, central Italy; now Vejano comune * Veja, a village in Stănița Commune, Neamț County, Romania * Veja River, Romania * Veja State, a former princely state in present Gujarat, western India Perso ...
highlighted Verissimo as "the writer that sells the most books in Brazil." At the same time, the English version of "O Clube dos Anjos" ("The Club of Angels") was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of the 25 best books of the year. In 2004, in France, he received the Prix Deux Oceans Latin Culture Festival of Biarritz. In 2006, Verissimo reached 70 years of age established as one of the greatest contemporary Brazilian writers, having sold a total of more than 5 million copies of his books. In 2008, his daughter Fernanda gave birth to his first granddaughter, Lucinda, who was born on the anniversary of the Sport Club Internacional, April 4.


Quotes

*
"The Americans saved the world ... And then kept it." – About the American intervention in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
*
"My inspiration muse is my deadline."IstoÉ Brazilian Magazine, Edition 1642


Literary works


Short stories

* ''A Grande Mulher Nua'' * ''Amor brasileiro'' * ''Aquele Estranho Dia que Nunca Chega'' * ''A Mãe de Freud'' * ''A Mesa Voadora'' * ''A Mulher do Silva'' * As Cobras em ''Se Deus existe que eu seja atingido por um raio" '' * ''As Aventuras da Família Brasil, Parte II'' * ''Novas Comédias da Vida Privada'' * ''Peças Íntimas'' * ''Separatismo; Corta Essa!'' * ''Sexo na Cabeça'' * ''Todas as comédias'' * ''Zoeira'' * ''A eterna privação do zagueiro absoluto'' * ''Comédias para se ler na escola'' * ''As mentiras que os homens contam'' * ''Histórias brasileiras de verão'' * ''Aquele estranho dia que nunca chega'' * ''Banquete com os Deuses'' * ''Novas Comédias para se ler na escola''


A velhinha de Taubaté

* ''A versão dos afogados – Novas comédias da vida pública'' **''Comédias da Vida Privada'' **''Comédias da Vida Pública''


Analista de Bagé

* ''Quadrinhos'' * ''O Marido do Dr. Pompeu'' * ''O Popular'' * ''O Rei do Rock'' * ''Orgias'' * ''O Suicida e o Computador'' * ''Outras do Analista de Bagé''


Ed Mort

* ''O seqüestro o zagueiro central'' * ''Com a Mão no Milhão'' * ''Outras Histórias'' * ''Procurando o Silva'' * ''Disney World Blues ''


Novels

* ''Borges e os Orangotangos Eternos'' * ''Gula – O Clube dos Anjos'' * ''O Jardim do Diabo'' * ''O oppositor''


Poetry

* ''Poesia numa hora dessas?!''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verissimo, Luis Fernando 1936 births Living people People from Porto Alegre Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian agnostics Brazilian columnists