Vergílio António Ferreira, JOSE (Melo, Gouveia, born 28 January 1916 –

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, 1 March 1996) was a Portuguese writer, essayist, professor and a key figure in Portuguese-language literature. His prolific literary output, comprising works of fiction (novels, short stories and novellas), philosophical essays and literary diaries, are generally divided into neorealism, dominant in Portuguese fiction at the time, and existentialism. In 1992, Ferreira was awarded the Camões Prize, a literary prize that seeks to distinguish the great names of Portuguese-language literature. His name remains linked to Portuguese literature through the annual attribution of the Literary Prize Vergílio Ferreira by the Municipality of Gouveia.

Biography

Ferreira entered a seminary at the age of 10 and left when he was 16. Later he studied at the University of Coimbra. His experiences are related in his most famous work ''Manhã Submersa'' (''Misty Morning'', lit. ''Submerged Morning''), which was published in 1953 and made into a film in 1980. Among his best novels is also ''Aparição'' (1959). He worked most of his life as a teacher in several places around Portugal.

Works

Fiction

* 1938 ''A curva de uma vida'' (posthumous) * 1943 ''O Caminho Fica Longe'' * 1944 ''Onde Tudo Foi Morrendo'' * 1946 ''Vagão "J"'' * 1947 ''Promessa'' * 1949 ''Mudança'' * 1954 ''Manhã Submersa'' * 1959 ''Aparição'' * 1953 ''A Face Sangrenta'' * 1960 ''Cântico Final'' * 1962 ''Estrela Polar'' * 1963 ''Apelo da Noite'' * 1965 ''Alegria Breve'' * 1971 ''Nítido Nulo'' * 1971 ''Apenas Homens'' * 1974 ''Rápida, a Sombra'' * 1976 ''Contos'' * 1979 ''Signo Sinal'' * 1983 ''Para Sempre'' * 1986 ''Uma Esplanada Sobre o Mar'' * 1987 ''Até ao Fim'' * 1990 ''Em Nome da Terra'' * 1993 ''Na Tua Face'' * 1995 ''Do Impossível Repouso'' * 1996 ''Cartas a Sandra

Essays

* 1943 ''Sobre o Humorismo de Eça de Queirós'' * 1957 ''Do Mundo Original'' * 1958 ''Carta ao Futuro'' * 1963 ''Da Fenomenologia a Sartre'' * 1963 ''Interrogação ao Destino, Malraux'' * 1965 ''Espaço do Invisível I'' * 1969 ''Invocação ao Meu Corpo'' * 1976 ''Espaço do Invisível II'' * 1977 ''Espaço do Invisível III'' * 1981 ''Um Escritor Apresenta-se'' * 1987 ''Espaço do Invisível IV'' * 1988 ''Arte Tempo'' * 1998 ''Espaço do Invisível V'' (posthumous)

Diaries

* 1980 ''Conta-Corrente I'' * 1981 ''Conta-Corrente II'' * 1983 ''Conta-Corrente III'' * 1986 ''Conta-Corrente IV'' * 1987 ''Conta-Corrente V'' * 1992 ''Pensar'' * 1993 ''Conta-Corrente-nova série I'' * 1993 ''Conta-Corrente-nova série II'' * 1994 ''Conta-Corrente-nova série III'' * 1994 ''Conta-Corrente-nova série IV'' * 2001 ''Escrever'' (posthumous) * 2010 ''Diário Inédito'' (posthumous)

References

1916 births 1996 deaths People from Gouveia, Portugal Portuguese male novelists Portuguese agnostics University of Coimbra alumni Prix Femina Étranger winners Camões Prize winners 20th-century Portuguese novelists 20th-century Portuguese writers 20th-century Portuguese male writers {{Portugal-writer-stub