Nélida Piñon Nélida Piñon (3 May 1937 – 17 December 2022) was a Brazilian author and professor. At the time of her death, Piñon was "considered among the foremost writers in Brazil today".

Life

Piñon was born in 1937 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 ...

. Her parents were Galician immigrants. She studied at the

Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro ( pt, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, PUC-Rio) is a Jesuit, Catholic, pontifical university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the joint responsibility of the Catholic ...

before working as a journalist for the newspaper ''

O Globo ''O Globo'' (, ''The Globe'') is a Brazilian newspaper based in Rio de Janeiro. ''O Globo'' is the most prominent print publication in the Grupo Globo media conglomerate. Founded by journalist Irineu Marinho, owner of '' A Noite'', it was ori ...

'' and the magazine ''Cadernos Brasileiros''. She has taught writing in workshops and at institutions including

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, Johns Hopkins and the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, where she has been the Stanford Professor of Humanities. Her first novel was ''Guia-Mapa de Gabriel Arcanjo'' (The Guidebook of Archangel Gabriel), written in 1961, it concerns a protagonist discussing Christian doctrine with her guardian angel. In the 1970s, she became noted for erotic novels ''A casa de paixão'' (The House of Passion) and ''A força do destino'' (The Force of Destiny), written in 1977. In 1984, she had her perhaps greatest success with ''A República dos Sonhos'', (The Republic of Dreams). The work involves generations of a family from Galicia who emigrated to Brazil, which relates to her own family's experience. Among other distinctions, Piñon was awarded the 1995 FIL Award and the 2005

Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

for literature. She also was the President of '' Academia Brasileira de Letras'' (Brazilian Academy of Letters) from 1996 to 1997, and occupied the José Bonifácio Chair of Iberoamerican Affairs of 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 ...

in 2015. She received the Spanish citizenship in 2021 by the Royal Decree. Piñon died on 17 December 2022, at the age of 85, in Lisbon.

Books

* ''Guia-Mapa de Gabriel Arcanjo'' (The Guidebook of Gabriel Arcanjo) (1961) * ''Fundador'' (Founders) (pre-1971) * ''A Casa da Paixão'' (The House of Passion) (1972) * ''A força do destino'' (The Force of Destiny) (1977) * ''The Republic of Dreams'', tr. Helen Lane, University of Texas Press (1991), * ''A doce canção de Caetana'' (The Sweet Song of Caetana) (1987) * ''Vozes do Deserto'' (2006) * ''Coração Andarilho'' (2009) * ''O Livro das Horas'' (2012) * ''Filhos da América'' (2016) * ''Uma Furtiva Lágrima'' (2019) * ''Um dia Chegarei a Sagres'' (2020)

Short stories

* ''I love my husband''. * ''Big-Bellied Cow'' * ''O Pão de Cada Dia''

Awards

* Walmap Prize, 1970, for her historical novel, 'Fundador' (Founders) * Mario de Andrade Prize, 1973, from the Association of Arts Critics in São Paulo for her novel, "A casa de paixão" * Brazilian Writers’ Union Prize, 1987 *

FIL Award The FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages (previously Juan Rulfo Prize for Latin American and Caribbean Literature), is awarded to writers of any genre of literature (poetry, novels, plays, short stories and literary essays), having as a means o ...

, 1995. *

Menéndez Pelayo International Prize The Menéndez Pelayo International Prize has been awarded since 1987 by the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) with the objective of honoring those persons whose literary or scientific work has a humanistic orientation and application, ...

, 2003 * Puterbaugh Conference on World Literature honoree, 2004 *

, 2005

References

External links