Milton Hatoum
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Milton Hatoum (born August 19, 1952) is a Brazilian writer, translator and professor. Hatoum is one of Brazil's most eminent contemporary writers. Among other honors, Hatoum was awarded Brazil's most prestigious literary award, the
Jabuti Prize The red-footed tortoise (''Chelonoidis carbonarius'') is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average as adults, but can reach over . They have dark-colored, loaf-shaped carapaces (back shel ...
, three times for best novel. In 2017, he received the title of Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government. Born in Manaus of Lebanese descent, he studied comparative literature in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, and has served as professor of literature in universities such as the
Federal University of Amazonas The Federal University of Amazonas ( pt, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, UFAM) is a public university located in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. It is the oldest university in Brazil and one of the largest universities in the northern region of Br ...
(UFAM) and at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. His first novel, ''Relato de um Certo Oriente'' ("''Tale of a Certain Orient''"), won the Jabuti Prize in 1989. His second novel, ''
Dois Irmãos Dois Irmãos is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its original German name was ''Baumschneis''.http://www.doisirmaos.rs.gov.br/historia.php Publishing The Catholic subscription book club Minha Biblioteca Católica was c ...
'' ("''Two Brothers''"), won another Jabuti in 2000 and was translated into twelve languages and adapted for television, theater and comics. His third novel '' Cinzas do Norte'' ("''Ashes of the Amazon''") won the Jabuti in 2005, as well as the
Portugal Telecom Prize for Literature Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a Sovereign state, country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southern Europe, Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes ...
, Bravo! and APCA awards. In 2008, his novel ''Órfãos do Eldorado'', was adapted for the cinema. Over 200,000 copies of his books have been sold in Brazil, and they have been translated in several languages including Italian, English, French, Spanish, Danish, Czech, and Arabic. Hatoum writes about destructured families in his works, with a political tendency. In two of his books, ''Dois Irmãos'' and ''Cinzas do Norte'', Milton Hatoum made a subtle criticism of the
Brazilian military regime The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian dicta ...
of 1964–1985.


Early years

Hatoum's father was an immigrant from Lebanon who met a Brazilian of Lebanese origin. During his childhood, Milton lived with the culture, religion and language of Arabs and African Jews. At age 15 he moved to
Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
and finished secondary school in the Brazilian capital. After that, Hatoum moved to
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
. Three years later, he studied Architecture and Urbanism at the
University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the bes ...
(USP). In 1980 he traveled to Spain on a scholarship from Instituto Iberoamericano de Cooperación. He lived in Madrid and Barcelona. After that, he took postgraduate courses at the University of Paris III.


Career

After concluding his studies, Hatoum returned to Manaus, where he taught French language and literature at the Universidade Federal do Amazonas. ''Relato de um Certo Oriente'' was published when he was 37. He became a Doctor in Literary Theory at USP in 1998. Feeling unsatisfied with the politics in Manaus, he decided to live in São Paulo. Eleven years after publishing his first novel, Milton wrote ''Dois Irmãos''. Between the publishing of the first and second books, he published several short stories in newspapers and magazines in Brazil and abroad.


Recognition

*2009
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 ...
— Shortlisted in the Best Book of the Year category for ''Órfãos do Eldorado''


Novels

*''Relato de um Certo Oriente'' ("''Tale of a Certain Orient''"). São Paulo: Cia. das Letras, 1990. *''Dois Irmãos'' ("''The Brothers''"). São Paulo: Cia. das Letras, 2000. *''Cinzas do Norte'' ("''Ashes of the Amazon''"), 2005. *''Orfãos do Eldorado'' ("''Orphans of Eldorado''"). São Paulo: Cia. das Letras, 2008. *''A Noite da Espera'' ("''The Night of Waiting''"). São Paulo, Cia das Letras, 2017.


Adaptations

*
Fábio Moon Fábio Moon is a Brazilian comic book artist best known for his work on ''Casanova''. He is the twin brother of fellow comic book artist Gabriel Bá. Career Fábio has been writing comics for almost 15 years, and has been published in France, I ...
and
Gabriel Bá Gabriel Bá (born 5 June 1976) is a Brazilian comic book artist best known for his work on ''The Umbrella Academy'', ''Casanova'', and '' Daytripper''. He is the twin brother of fellow comic book artist Fábio Moon. Career Gabriel Bá has been ...
: ''Two Brothers'', Milwaukie:
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...
, 2015; a comic based on ''Dois Irmãos''. *In 2017, Two Brothers (''Dois Irmãos)'' debuted in a miniseries format on TV Globo, directed by
Luiz Fernando Carvalho Luiz Fernando Carvalho (born July 28, 1960, in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian filmmaker and television director, known for works closely linked to literature that constitute a renovation in Brazilian audiovisual aesthetics. He has already brought ...
and actor
Cauã Reymond Cauã Reymond Marques (, born 20 May 1980) is a Brazilian actor. He is best known for his television roles in ''Malhação'' and ''Cordel Encantado''. His television credits include ''Belíssima'', ''Passione'', '' A Favorita'', and '' Avenida ...
in the role of one of the twin brothers living in Manaus.


Short stories

*A cidade ilhada *Você tem medo do quê? *Varandas da Eva


References


External links


Official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatoum, Milton Brazilian male writers 1952 births Living people Brazilian people of Lebanese descent People from Manaus International Writing Program alumni