Victor Doblas Heringer (March 27, 1988 – March 7, 2018) was a Brazilian

Prêmio Jabuti The Prêmio Jabuti (the "Tortoise Prize") is the most traditional literary award in Brazil, given by the Brazilian Book Chamber (CBL). It was conceived by Edgard Cavalheiro in 1959 when he presided over the CBL, with the interest of rewarding autho ...

-winning novelist, translator,

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

and poet, famous for his novels ''Glória'' (2012) and ''O Amor dos Homens Avulsos'' (2016).

Biography

Victor Doblas Heringer was born on March 27, 1988, to a family of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

descent in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, in the ''

bairro A ''bairro'' () is a Portuguese language, Portuguese word for a Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter or a neighborhood or, sometimes, a district which is within a city or town. It is commonly used in Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, ...

'' (neighborhood) of

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, but was raised in

Nova Friburgo Nova Friburgo (, ger, Neufreiburg, , en, New Fribourg, commonly referred to as just "Friburgo") is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil. It is located in the mountainous region, in the Center Mesoregion of the stat ...

. Graduated in

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

from the

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro or University of Brazil (UFRJ; pt, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro or ') is a public research university located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the ...

, before publishing his first books he worked at the Instituto Moreira Salles and at the Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa after obtaining a scholarship for the latter. Between 2014 and 2017 he had a weekly

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

in the magazine '' Pessoa'', and also periodically wrote for the

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...

-based magazine ''Continente'', among many others. Heringer's debut work, the poetry anthology ''Automatógrafo'', was released through 7Letras in 2011. The following year, he published the critically acclaimed novel ''Glória'', about a " plastic artist searching for an impossible woman", for which he received the prestigious

in 2013. Heringer's second novel, ''O Amor dos Homens Avulsos'', came out in 2016 through

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 ...

, and tells the story "of two boys who fall in love with each other, but have their passion interrupted by a tragedy"; it was nominated for the Prêmio Rio de Literatura, the

São Paulo Prize for Literature The São Paulo Prize for Literature ( pt, Prêmio São Paulo de Literatura) is a Brazilian literary prize for novels written in the Portuguese language and published in Brazil. It was established in 2008 by the Secretary of Culture for the State ...

and the Prêmio Oceanos. He claims that the fictional ''carioca'' neighborhood of Queím, in which the novel takes place, was inspired by the real-life neighborhood of

Del Castilho Del Castilho is a neighborhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Many of the streets are named after impressionist artists, such as Van Gogh and Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French ...

, where he used to visit his grandmother when he was a kid, as well as by his childhood memories of Rio's North Zone as a whole. Heringer's final work to be published during his lifetime was a translation to Portuguese of

Loung Ung Loung Ung ( km, អ៊ឹង លួង; born 19 November 1970) is a Cambodian American human-rights activist, lecturer and national spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World, between 1997 and 2003. She has served in the same capaci ...

's 2000 memoir ''

First They Killed My Father ''First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers'' is a 2000 non-fiction book written by Loung Ung, a Cambodian-American author and childhood survivor of Democratic Kampuchea. It is her personal account of her experiences during t ...

'', which came out in Brazil in 2017 through

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. The same year, he was included by '' Forbes Brasil'' in their " UNDER 30 in Literature" list. Throughout most of his life Heringer struggled with depression. On March 7, 2018, three weeks prior to his 30th birthday, he was found dead near his apartment in Copacabana following an apparent suicide by

self-defenestration Jumping from a dangerous location, such as from a high window, balcony, or roof, or from a cliff, dam, or bridge, is an often used suicide method in some countries. Many countries have noted suicide bridges such as the Nanjing Yangtze River Brid ...

. On June 9, 2018, his publisher Companhia das Letras announced that, as a tribute to him, they would re-issue all of his works; they had already re-published his first novel ''Glória'' some months prior, and a complete anthology of his poems, containing previously unpublished pieces, was originally announced to be released in 2019. In one of his final interviews, from October 2017, he stated that he was working on a third novel, scheduled to be published in 2018 and inspired by his travels across

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and

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, but it is unknown if he was able to finish it prior to his death. A posthumous collection containing seventy of Heringer's ''

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'', ''Vida Desinteressante'', came out through Companhia das Letras in 2021; it was nominated for another Prêmio Jabuti the following year. An English translation of ''O Amor dos Homens Avulsos'' is scheduled to be published by

Peirene Press Peirene Press is an independent publishing house based in London. Established by novelist and publisher Meike Ziervogel, Peirene is primarily focused on bringing out high-quality English translations of contemporary European short novels. Peiren ...

on July 11, 2023, following an earlier translation to Italian by Safarà Editore.

Bibliography

;Poetry * ''Automatógrafo'' (7Letras, 2011) ;Novels * ''Glória'' (7Letras, 2012; re-issued by

in 2018) * ''O Amor dos Homens Avulsos'' (Companhia das Letras, 2016) ;''Crônicas'' * ''Vida Desinteressante'' (Companhia das Letras, 2021; posthumous) ;Translation * '' Primeiro Mataram Meu Pai'' (

, 2017)

Notes

* A. Released in English as ''The Love of Singular Men'' (trans. by James Young,

, 2023) and in Italian as ''L'amore degli uomini soli'' (trans. by Vincenzo Barca, Safarà Editore, 2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heringer, Victor 1988 births 2018 deaths 2018 suicides 21st-century Brazilian poets Writers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Federal University of Rio de Janeiro alumni 21st-century Brazilian novelists Brazilian male poets Portuguese-language writers Brazilian male novelists 21st-century Brazilian male writers 21st-century translators English–Portuguese translators Brazilian people of German descent Suicides by jumping in Brazil People from Nova Friburgo