Jorge Amado

Hello, guys! What have you been doing out there? Today we are going to discuss a legendary icon of Brazilian literature: the Brazilian writer Jorge Amado. Let’s learn not only about this marvelous author, but also about his work and museum!

Who was Jorge Amado?

The Brazilian writer Jorge Amado was born on August 10, 1912, in Itabuna, Bahia. He died in Salvador, also in Bahia, on August 6, 2001, four days before his 89th birthday. Jorge Amado is one of the most widely read romantics in the world, and his works are translated in numerous languages, including Spanish, English, French and Italian.

Jorge Amado’s life was marked by remoteness due to his affiliation with communism. In 1945 the author became a congressman for the Brazilian Communist Party, which five years later became an illegal party. In order to avoid prison, he and his family had to move from one country to another. Jorge Amado returned to Brazil in 1955 and gave up on his political career, dedicating himself to literature only. He received in his entire life, approximately one hundred thousand pages of letters from people all over the world. Nowadays, these letters are stored in the Jorge Amado House Foundation.

What Did Jorge Amado Write About?

Jorge Amado wrote his works in a straightforward and everyday – yet very poetic – language. The author loved to portray themes relevant to the poor, the black, the outcast and all those excluded from society, and this made them viewed as human beings, worthy of thoughts and desires. His books were transformed into movies, series, and soap operas. Highlighting some of his greatest achievements, we have: Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, Capitães de Areia and País do Carnaval.

Jorge Amado’s Works

His works include:

• The Country of Carnival (O País do Carnaval, 1931)
• Cacau (1933)
• Sweat (Suor, 1934)
• Jubiabá (1935)
• Sea of Death (Mar Morto, 1936)
• Captains of the Sands (Capitães da Areia, 1937)
• The ABC of Castro Alves (ABC de Castro Alves, 1941)
• The Knight of Hope (Vida de Luis Carlos Prestes or O Cavaleiro da Esperança, 1942)
• The Violent Land (Terras do Sem Fim, 1943)
• The Golden Harvest (São Jorge dos Ilhéus, 1944)
• Bahia de Todos-os-santos (1945)
• Red Field (Seara Vermelha, 1946)
• The Bowels of Liberty trilogy (Os Subterrâneos da Liberdade, 1954)
• Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (Gabriela, Cravo e Canela, 1958)
• The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray (A Morte e a Morte de Quincas Berro D’agua, 1959)
• Home Is the Sailor (Os Velhos Marinheiros ou o Capitão de Longo Curso, 1961)
• Ogum’s Compadre (O compadre de Ogum, 1964)
• Shepherds of the Night (Os Pastores da Noite, 1964)
• Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos, 1966)
• Tent of Miracles (Tenda dos Milagres, 1969)
• Tereza Batista: Home from the Wars (Teresa Batista Cansada da Guerra, 1972)
• The Swallow and the Tomcat: A Love Story (O Gato Malhado e a Andorinha Sinhá: uma história de amor, 1976)
• Tieta (Tieta do Agreste, 1977)
• Pen, Sword, Camisole (Farda Fardão Camisola de Dormir, 1979)
• Showdown (Tocaia Grande, 1984)
• The War of the Saints (O Sumiço da Santa, 1988)
• Coasting (Navegação de Cabotagem, 1992)
• The Discovery of America by the Turks (A Descoberta da América pelos Turcos, 1994)

Now that you know who Jorge Amado was, how about reading some of his books?

Poetry is not in verses, sometimes it is in the heart. And it is so big. To the point of not fitting the words.

Jorge Amado

Jorge Amado House Foundation

Fundação Casa de Jorge Amado was opened in March 1987. The museum is tasked with preserving the bibliographic and artistic collections of the writer Jorge Amado. It also aims to encourage studies and research on the literature made in Bahia.

The Foundation houses a permanent exhibition about the writer’s life, made up of editions of his books – published in sixty countries on five continents. In addition, it also has an extensive collection of photographs, posters and objects related to the author and his work, a set of more than 250,000 objects.

If you come for an immersive course with us, we can totally take you to visit Jorge Amado House Foundation! Take a look at how much fun our student had while he was learning Portuguese in Brazil:

Now it’s your turn!

Let’s test your reading comprehension! Read the sentences below and say if they are true or false by placing V (for true) and F (for false) in parentheses. If the sentence is false, correct it!

1. Jorge Amado é um escritor brasileiro.
2. Ele nasceu em 1912 em Salvador.
3. Após ter fugido do Brasil por razões políticas, ele voltou em 1945
4. Ao longo da vida, ele recebeu mais de mil cartas dos seus admiradores
5. Seus livros foram transformados em filmes, séries e novelas
6. Ele não falava espanhol, inglês, francês e italiano
7. O autor adorava retratar temas relevantes para os pobres, os negros, os excluídos
8. As obras de Jorge Amado são conhecidas por terem uma linguagem complexa e formal.

We hope you have enjoyed knowing a little more about Brazilian literature. See you next Dica!
A big hug from Rio & Learn.

Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Read in Simple Present
Read in Simple Past
Paulo Coelho
Machado de Assis

Answers

1. Jorge Amado é um escritor brasileiro. ( V )
2. Ele nasceu em 1912 em Salvador. ( F ) Ele nasceu em 1912 na Bahía.
3. Após ter fugido do Brasil por razões políticas, ele voltou em 1945. ( F ) Após ter fugido do Brasil por razões políticas, ele voltou em 1955.
4. Ao longo da vida, ele recebeu mais de mil cartas dos seus admiradores. ( F ) Ao longo da vida, ele recebeu mais de cem mil cartas dos seus admiradores.
5. Seus livros foram transformados em filmes, séries e novelas. ( V )
6. Ele não falava espanhol, inglês, francês e italiano. ( F ) Ele falava espanhol, inglês, francês e italiano.
7. O autor adorava retratar temas relevantes para os pobres, os negros, os excluídos. ( V )
8. As obras de Jorge Amado são conhecidas por terem uma linguagem complexa e formal. ( F ) As obras de Jorge Amado são conhecidas por terem uma linguagem simples e popular.