António Jacinto
Encyclopedia
António Jacinto, full name António Jacinto do Amaral Martins, born in Luanda
, Angola
28 September 1924, died 23 June 1991 in Lisbon
, Portugal
, was an Angolan poet.
, he started working as a civil servant. He stood out as a protesting poet, and as a result of his political militancy, was arrested and sent to the Tarrafal concentration camp
in Cape Verde from 1960 to 1972. He was then transferred to Lisbon where, on parole, he worked as an accountant
. He escaped in 1973 to join the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola. As soon as independence was declared in 1975 and until 1978, he carried out the function of Minister of Education and Cultural Secretary of State
.
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
28 September 1924, died 23 June 1991 in Lisbon
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...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, was an Angolan poet.
Biography
After having obtained his license in LuandaLuanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
, he started working as a civil servant. He stood out as a protesting poet, and as a result of his political militancy, was arrested and sent to the Tarrafal concentration camp
Tarrafal camp
Tarrafal was a prison camp in Cape Verde, then a Portuguese colony, set up by the dictator António de Oliveira Salazar after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War , where opponents of his right-wing authoritarian regime were sent...
in Cape Verde from 1960 to 1972. He was then transferred to Lisbon where, on parole, he worked as an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
. He escaped in 1973 to join the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola. As soon as independence was declared in 1975 and until 1978, he carried out the function of Minister of Education and Cultural Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
.
Selected poems
- O grande desafio (Portuguese, The great challenge)
- Poema da alienação (Poem of alienation)
- Carta dum contratado (Letter of a contract worker)
- Monangamba (French adaptation and music setting by Colette Magny in 1964)
- Canto interior de uma noite fantástica (Interior chant of a fantastic night)
- Era uma vez (literally, it was once; can be translated as, once upon a time)
- Bailarina negra (Black dancer)
- Ah! Se pudésseis aqui ver poesia que não há! (Ah! If you could see that there is no poetry here!)
Quotes
- Sur cette vaste plantation, ce n'est pas la pluie mais la sueur de mon front qui arrose les récoltes (French, from poem "Monangamba"; literally, On this vast plantation, it is not rain but the sweat from my brow that waters the harvests)