Lêdo Ivo (18 February 1924 – 23 December 2012) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, essayist and journalist. He was member of the
Brazilian Academy of Letters
The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...
, elected in 1986.
Biography
Lêdo Ivo was born in 1924 in
Maceió
Maceió (), formerly sometimes Anglicised as Maceio, is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name "Maceió" is an Indigenous term for a spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped and form la ...
, capital of
Alagoas
Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...
state in northeastern Brazil. He settled in 1940 in
Recife
That it may shine on all (Matthew 5:15)
, image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg
, mapsize = 250px
, map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco
, pushpin_map = Brazil#South Am ...
, where he completed his training. In 1943, he moved to
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 ...
to enroll in law school, while also working for the literary supplements as a professional journalist. He married Leda Maria Sarmento Ivo de Medeiros (1923-2004), with whom he had three children.
His first book was published in 1944, a collection of poems titled ''As imaginações''. The following year he published ''Ode e Elegia'', which was awarded the Olavo Bilac Prize of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and is a turning point in the history of Brazilian poetry. The death of
Mário de Andrade in 1945 led to a generational change in Brazilian poetry whose rule was "an invitation to transgression", with the triumph of purely poetical structures.
His literary work would be enhanced in the following decades by books of poetry, novels, short stories and essays or reports. Ivo's first novel, ''As Alianças'', which went through several editions and awarded him the Graça Aranha Foundation Prize in 1947. He continued with ''O Caminho sem Adventura'' (1948), ''O sobrinho do General'' (1964) and ''Ninho de cobras'' (published in English as ''Snake's Nest'') (1973), one of his biggest hits, an allegory of totalitarianism of the military dictatorship of
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...
. His last novel was ''A morte do Brasil ''(1984).
In 1949 Ivo spoke at the
Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo in a conference titled ''The Generation of 1945''; in the same year he received a degree in law, a profession he would never exercise, preferring to devote himself to journalism. In 1953 he visited several European countries for long periods. In 1963 he spent two months in universities in the USA, by invitation of the Government. In 1986 Ivo was elected to the Brazilian Academy of Letters. In 2009 he was awarded the
Premio Casa de Las Américas
The and its twin the are sedans sold in Japan from 2001 to 2021 by Toyota. The sedans are designated as a compact car by Japanese dimension regulations and the exterior dimensions do not change with periodic updates. Unlike Toyota's other v ...
.
Ledo Ivo was also a translator. He translated into Portuguese works of authors like
Albrecht Goes
Albrecht Goes (22 March 1908 – 23 February 2000) was a German writer and Protestant theologian.
Life
Albrecht Goes was born in 1908 in the Protestant rectory in Langenbeutingen. He spent his childhood there, but his mother died in 1911 and in 1 ...
,
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
,
Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...
,
Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...
and
Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
.
He published two memoirs, ''Confissões de um Poeta'' (1979), which was awarded the prize of the Cultural Foundation of the Federal District, and ''O Aluno Relapso'' (1991).
Works
Poetry
*As imaginações. Rio de Janeiro: Pongetti, 1944.4
*Ode e elegia. Rio de Janeiro: Pongetti, 1945.
*Acontecimento do soneto. Barcelona: O Livro Inconsútil, 1948.
*Ode ao crepúsculo. Rio de Janeiro: Pongetti, 1948.
*Cântico. Illustrations by Emeric Marcier. Río de Janeiro: J. Olympio, 1949.
*Linguagem: (1949-19041). Rio de Janeiro, J. Olympio, 1951.
*Ode equatorial. With etchings by Anísio Medeiros. Niterói: Hipocampo, 1951.
*Acontecimento do soneto. Introduction by Campos de Figueiredo. Río de Janeiro: Orfeu, 1951.
*Um brasileiro em Paris e O rei da Europa. Rio de Janeiro: J. Olympio, 1955.
*Magias. Rio de Janeiro: Agir, 1960.
*Uma lira dos vinte anos. Rio de Janeiro: Liv. São José, 1962.
*Estação central. Rio de Janeiro: Tempo Brasileiro, 1964.
*Rio, a cidade e os dias: crônicas e histórias. Río de Janeiro: Tempo Brasileiro, 1965.
*Finisterra. Rio de Janeiro: J. Olympio, 1972.
*O sinal semafórico. Rio de Janeiro: J. Olympio, 1974.
*O soldado raso. Recife: Edições Pirata, 1980.
*A noite misteriosa. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1982.
*Calabar. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1985.
*Mar Oceano. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1987.
*Crepúsculo civil. Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks, 1990.
*Curral de peixe. Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks, 1995.
*Noturno romano. With etchings by João Athanasio. Teresópolis: Impressões do Brasil, 1997.
*O rumor da noite. Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, 2000.
*Plenilúnio. Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks, 2004.
*Réquiem. Rio de Janeiro: A Contra Capa, 2008.
*Poesia Completa (1940-2004). Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks, 2004.
*Réquiem. With paintings by Gonçalo Ivo and design by Gianguido Bonfanti. Rio de Janeiro: Contra Capa, 2008.
*Mormaço. With paintings by Steven Alexander. Rio de Janeiro: Contra Capa, 2013.
Novels
*As alianças (Premio Fundação Graça Aranha). Rio de Janeiro: Agir, 1947.
*O caminho sem aventura. São Paulo: Instituto Progresso Editorial, 1948.
*O sobrinho do general. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 1964.
*Ninho de cobras (V Premio Walmap). Rio de Janeiro: J. Olympio, 1973.
*A morte do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1984.
Short stories
*Use a passagem subterrânea. São Paulo: Difusão Européia do Livro, 1961.
*O flautim. Río de Janeiro: Bloch, 1966.
*10
ezcontos escolhidos. Brasilia: Horizonte, 1986.
*Os melhores contos de Lêdo Ivo. São Paulo: Global, 1995.
*Um domingo perdido. São Paulo: Global, 1998.
References
External links
Ledo Ivo recorded at the Library of Congress for the Hispanic Division’s audio literary archive on July 29, 1974
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivo, Ledo
20th-century Brazilian poets
Brazilian male poets
1924 births
2012 deaths
People from Maceió
20th-century Brazilian male writers