Alexandre O'Neill
Encyclopedia
Alexandre Manuel Vahia de Castro O'Neill de Bulhões, GOSE (Lisbon
, 19 December 1924 - Lisbon, 21 August 1986) was a Portuguese
writer
and poet
of Irish
descent.
Avenue the son of José António Pereira de Eça O'Neill (Lisbon, c. 1890 - ?), a bank
worker, and wife Maria da Glória Vahia de Barros de Castro (17 March 1905 - aft. October 1989), and paternal grandson of writer, poet, conferencewoman
and journalist
Maria O'Neill
.
He had an older sister, Maria Amélia Vahia de Castro O'Neill de Bulhões, who became a Nun
.
.
Surrealist and concretist poet
and writer, and a publicist
, who collaborated in many periodicals.
In 1948, O'Neill was among the founders of the Lisbon Surrealist Movement, along with Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos
, José-Augusto França and others. His writings soon diverged from Surrealist to form an original style whose poetry reflects a love
/hate relationship with his country.
His salient characteristics - a disrespect of conventions, both social and literary, an attitude of permanent revolt, playfulness with language, and the use of parody and black humor - are used to form a body of incisive depictions of what is to be Portuguese and his relation with the country.
Although most of his works have been lost or are missing or in private collections some of his work was displayed in 2002 at an exhibit on the Surrealist
movement.
O'Neill was in permanent conflict with Portugal. While other contemporaries wrote poems that protested against national life under Salazar
, O'Neill's attack ran deeper. Poems such as Standing at Fearful Attention and Portugal suggested that the dictatorial regime was a symptom (the worst symptom) of graver ills – lack of courage and smallness of vision – woven into the nation's psyche
. Other poems, such as Lament of the Man Who Misses Being Blind, seemed to hold religion
and mysticism
responsible for an obscurantism that made change difficult if not impossible.
A publicist
by profession, famed for inventing some of the most ingenious advertising slogans of his time, O'Neill was unusually adept at manipulating words and using them in an efficacious manner, but he refused to put that talent at the service of a lyrically lofty, feel-good sort of poetry (see 'Simply Expressive').
Stridently anti-Romantic
, concerned to keep humanity in its place as just one of Earth
's species
, he did not believe that an especially harmonious world was possible, and he abhorred all attempts to escape the world, whether through mystical or poetical exaltations. His one hope, or consolation, explicitly stated in St. Francis's Empty Sandal, was in the connection (never entirely peaceful) he felt with other members of the species.
. The couple had a son:
He married secondly in Lisbon on 4 August 1971 and divorced on 20 February 1981 politician Teresa Patrício de Gouveia
. The couple had a son:
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 19 December 1924 - Lisbon, 21 August 1986) was a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
descent.
Family
He was born at 39 Fontes Pereira de MeloFontes Pereira de Melo
António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo GCTE KGF was a Portuguese statesman, politician, and engineer. He was the son of João de Fontes Pereira de Melo and wife and first cousin Jacinta Venância Rosa da Cunha Matos...
Avenue the son of José António Pereira de Eça O'Neill (Lisbon, c. 1890 - ?), a bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
worker, and wife Maria da Glória Vahia de Barros de Castro (17 March 1905 - aft. October 1989), and paternal grandson of writer, poet, conferencewoman
Academic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Maria O'Neill
Maria O'Neill
Maria da Conceição Infante de Lacerda Pereira de Eça Custance O'Neill was a Portuguese writer, poet, journalist, and spiritualist of Irish descent.-Family:...
.
He had an older sister, Maria Amélia Vahia de Castro O'Neill de Bulhões, who became a Nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
.
Career
He was a self-taught person and worked as a publicitaryPublicity
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...
.
Surrealist and concretist poet
Concrete poetry
Concrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on....
and writer, and a publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
, who collaborated in many periodicals.
In 1948, O'Neill was among the founders of the Lisbon Surrealist Movement, along with Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos
Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos
Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos also known as Mário Cesariny is among the most important Portuguese surrealist poets, having published several major works during a career spanning 50 years...
, José-Augusto França and others. His writings soon diverged from Surrealist to form an original style whose poetry reflects a love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
/hate relationship with his country.
His salient characteristics - a disrespect of conventions, both social and literary, an attitude of permanent revolt, playfulness with language, and the use of parody and black humor - are used to form a body of incisive depictions of what is to be Portuguese and his relation with the country.
Although most of his works have been lost or are missing or in private collections some of his work was displayed in 2002 at an exhibit on the Surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
movement.
O'Neill was in permanent conflict with Portugal. While other contemporaries wrote poems that protested against national life under Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
, O'Neill's attack ran deeper. Poems such as Standing at Fearful Attention and Portugal suggested that the dictatorial regime was a symptom (the worst symptom) of graver ills – lack of courage and smallness of vision – woven into the nation's psyche
Psyche (psychology)
The word psyche has a long history of use in psychology and philosophy, dating back to ancient times, and has been one of the fundamental concepts for understanding human nature from a scientific point of view. The English word soul is sometimes used synonymously, especially in older...
. Other poems, such as Lament of the Man Who Misses Being Blind, seemed to hold religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
responsible for an obscurantism that made change difficult if not impossible.
A publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
by profession, famed for inventing some of the most ingenious advertising slogans of his time, O'Neill was unusually adept at manipulating words and using them in an efficacious manner, but he refused to put that talent at the service of a lyrically lofty, feel-good sort of poetry (see 'Simply Expressive').
Stridently anti-Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
, concerned to keep humanity in its place as just one of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, he did not believe that an especially harmonious world was possible, and he abhorred all attempts to escape the world, whether through mystical or poetical exaltations. His one hope, or consolation, explicitly stated in St. Francis's Empty Sandal, was in the connection (never entirely peaceful) he felt with other members of the species.
Decorations
He was awarded the degree of Grand Officer of the Order of Saint James of the Sword.Marriages and children
He married firstly on 27 December 1957 and divorced on 15 January 1971 television and film screenwriter, editor and director Noémia DelgadoNoémia Delgado
Noémia Delgado , is a Portuguese Television and Film Screenwriter, editor and Director.-Background:...
. The couple had a son:
- Alexandre Delgado O'Neill (Lisbon, 23 December 1959 - Boston, Suffolk CountySuffolk County, MassachusettsSuffolk County has no land border with Plymouth County to its southeast, but the two counties share a water boundary in the middle of Massachusetts Bay.-National protected areas:*Boston African American National Historic Site...
, MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, 4 January 1993), a photographer, unmarried and without issue
He married secondly in Lisbon on 4 August 1971 and divorced on 20 February 1981 politician Teresa Patrício de Gouveia
Teresa Patrício de Gouveia
Maria Teresa Pinto Basto Patrício de Gouveia, GCIH , is a Portuguese Politician.-Background:She is a daughter of Afonso Patrício de Gouveia and wife Maria Madalena d'Orey Ferreira Pinto Basto , from a Family of the high Bourgeoisie and some Nobility and of more or less distant English, German,...
. The couple had a son:
- Afonso de Gouveia O'Neill (born 28 May 1976), unmarried and without issue
Filmography
- Las Hurdes aka Las Hurdes, tierra sin pan (Spain: long title) or Tierra sin pan (Spain: short title) or Land Without Bread (International: English title) (1933) .... Himself - Voice
- Dom Roberto (1962) AuthorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of Poems - Pássaros de Asas Cortadas aka Birds with Clipped Wings (International: English title) (1963) AuthorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of the DialogueDialogueDialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people.... - Sete Balas Para Selma (1967) AuthorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of Poem - Águas Vivas (1969) .... NarratorNarratorA narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
and also Film writerScreenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:... - A Grande Roda (1970) Film writerScreenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
- Sever do Vouga... Uma Experiência (1971) .... NarratorNarratorA narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
- Schweik na Segunda Guerra Mundial (1975) (TVTelevision movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
) AuthorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of Poems - Cantigamente (3 episodes, "#1.1", "#1.2" and "#1.3", 1976) Television writerScreenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
- MáscarasMascarasMascaras may refer to the following places in France:*Mascaras, Gers, a commune in the Gers department*Mascaras, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department...
(1976) .... NarratorNarratorA narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for... - Nós por cá Todos Bem (1978) AuthorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of Poem "Coro das Criadas de Servir" - Ninguém (1979) (TVTelevision movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
) Television writerScreenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:... - Lisboa (1979) (TVTelevision movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
) Television writerScreenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:... - Prata da Casa (unknown episodes, 1980) .... Himself as JuryJuryA jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
Member