Lúcio Cardoso
Encyclopedia
Joaquim Lúcio Cardoso Filho, known as Lúcio Cardoso (Curvelo
, Minas Gerais
, Brazil
, August 14, 1913 - Rio de Janeiro
, September 22, 1968) was a Brazil
ian novelist, playwright, and poet.
The son of an impoverished but prominent family in Minas Gerais
, Lúcio Cardoso was the brother of Adauto Lúcio Cardoso, a senator for the center-right União Democrática Nacional and later member of the Supreme Federal Court; and of Maria Helena Cardoso, who became a respected writer herself as a memorialist, including the editing of the posthumous memoirs of her brother Lúcio (Por onde andou meu coração, 1967; Vida-vida, 1973; and Sonata perdida: Anotações de uma velha dama digna, 1979).
At an early age, having flunked out of or been expelled by several schools, Cardoso moved to Rio de Janeiro
, where he got a job in an insurance company. He soon came to the notice of the group of writers around the wealthy industrialist (and a poet himself) Augusto Frederico Schmidt, who published his first works. Many of these writers, including Octávio de Faria and Cornélio Penna, were, like Cardoso, fervently Catholic
- and, in the twin case of Cardoso and Octávio de Faria, both Catholic and homosexual. In a time when Brazilian literature was dominated by leftist, regionalist themes, these writers were less interested in the then-dominant political concerns of Brazilian writing as they were in the inner experience and what they felt as a need for personal salvation. This paramount value placed upon the subjective character of writing was a characteristic Cardoso shared also with his younger contemporary Clarice Lispector
, who fell in love with Cardoso when she was an adolescent, and who remained a close friend until his death.
Cardoso was enormously prolific in several genres, including the theater, where, together with the Afro-Brazilian
activist Abdias do Nascimento
, he started the Teatro Experimental do Negro, Brazil's first black theater company. With Paulo César Saraceni, he was responsible for the first feature-length film of the nascent Cinema Novo
, Porto das caixas - based on a true history about a popular miracle said to have happened in the municipality of Itaboraí
, then a backwater rural community in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Perhaps his most famous novel is Crônica da casa assassinada (Chronicle of the Murdered House, 1959, a long, Faulknerian story of a decayed gentry family in Minas Gerais
.
A famous figure in the bohemian milieu of Rio de Janeiro
--"Ipanema
should be called Lúcio Cardoso," according to one friend--his health deteriorated because of his alcoholism
and dependence on prescription drugs. On December 7, 1962, at the height of his creativity, he suffered a terrible stroke. He struggled unsuccessfully to recover his ability to speak and write, and when that failed he turned to painting.
On September 22, 1968, following another stroke, he died in Rio de Janeiro
.
Curvelo
Curvelo is a city and municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is located in the geodesic centre of Minas Gerais, 170 km. north of the capital, Belo Horizonte, and connected to the capital by highways MG 135 and BR 040. Its estimated population is 74.409 inhabitants and the...
, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, August 14, 1913 - Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, September 22, 1968) was a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian novelist, playwright, and poet.
The son of an impoverished but prominent family in Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, Lúcio Cardoso was the brother of Adauto Lúcio Cardoso, a senator for the center-right União Democrática Nacional and later member of the Supreme Federal Court; and of Maria Helena Cardoso, who became a respected writer herself as a memorialist, including the editing of the posthumous memoirs of her brother Lúcio (Por onde andou meu coração, 1967; Vida-vida, 1973; and Sonata perdida: Anotações de uma velha dama digna, 1979).
At an early age, having flunked out of or been expelled by several schools, Cardoso moved to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, where he got a job in an insurance company. He soon came to the notice of the group of writers around the wealthy industrialist (and a poet himself) Augusto Frederico Schmidt, who published his first works. Many of these writers, including Octávio de Faria and Cornélio Penna, were, like Cardoso, fervently Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
- and, in the twin case of Cardoso and Octávio de Faria, both Catholic and homosexual. In a time when Brazilian literature was dominated by leftist, regionalist themes, these writers were less interested in the then-dominant political concerns of Brazilian writing as they were in the inner experience and what they felt as a need for personal salvation. This paramount value placed upon the subjective character of writing was a characteristic Cardoso shared also with his younger contemporary Clarice Lispector
Clarice Lispector
Clarice Lispector was a Brazilian writer. Acclaimed internationally for her innovative novels and short stories, she was also a journalist...
, who fell in love with Cardoso when she was an adolescent, and who remained a close friend until his death.
Cardoso was enormously prolific in several genres, including the theater, where, together with the Afro-Brazilian
Afro-Brazilian
In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...
activist Abdias do Nascimento
Abdias do Nascimento
Abdias do Nascimento was a prominent Afro-Brazilian scholar, artist, and politician.-Biography:Born in Franca, São Paulo state, Nascimento attended public school as a child and joined the military in 1930, but was discharged for disorderly conduct a few years later. He received a B.A...
, he started the Teatro Experimental do Negro, Brazil's first black theater company. With Paulo César Saraceni, he was responsible for the first feature-length film of the nascent Cinema Novo
Cinema Novo
Cinema Novo was practised by Brazilian filmmakers in the 1950s and 1960s. In Portugal, Novo Cinema flourished after the 1960s, where it lasted, inspired by Italian Neo-Realism and the French movement of the New wave, the direct cinema techniques, and by the ideals the Carnation Revolution up to...
, Porto das caixas - based on a true history about a popular miracle said to have happened in the municipality of Itaboraí
Itaboraí
Itaboraí is a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It was founded in 1672. In 2006, it had a population of 220,981....
, then a backwater rural community in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Perhaps his most famous novel is Crônica da casa assassinada (Chronicle of the Murdered House, 1959, a long, Faulknerian story of a decayed gentry family in Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
.
A famous figure in the bohemian milieu of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
--"Ipanema
Ipanema
For other uses, see Ipanema . For the British rock band, see Ipanema .Ipanema is a neighborhood located in the southern region of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador...
should be called Lúcio Cardoso," according to one friend--his health deteriorated because of his alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and dependence on prescription drugs. On December 7, 1962, at the height of his creativity, he suffered a terrible stroke. He struggled unsuccessfully to recover his ability to speak and write, and when that failed he turned to painting.
On September 22, 1968, following another stroke, he died in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
.
Select bibliography
- Maleita, Schmidt Ed., Rio de Janeiro, 1934.
- Salgueiro, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1935.
- A luz no subsolo, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1936.
- Mãos vazias, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1938.
- Histórias da Lagoa Grande, Globo, Porto Alegre, 1939.
- O desconhecido, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1940.
- Céu escuro, Vamos Lêr!, Rio de Janeiro, 1940.
- Poesias, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1941.
- Dias perdidos, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1943.
- Novas poesias, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1944.
- O escravo (play), Zélio Valverde Ed., Rio de Janeiro, 1944.
- Inácio, in Dez romancistas falam de seus personagens, Ed. Condé, Rio de Janeiro, 1946.
- A professora Hilda, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1946.
- O anfiteatro, Livraria Agir, Rio de Janeiro, 1946.
- O enfeitiçado, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1954.
- Crônica da casa assassinada, José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1959.
- Diário I, Elos, Rio de Janeiro, 1961
- O mistério dos MMM, in collaboration with João Condé. O Cruzeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 1962.
- Diário completo, José Olympio/INL, Rio de Janeiro, 1970.
- Três histórias da província, Bloch, Rio de Janeiro, 1969.
- Três histórias da cidade, Bloch, Rio de Janeiro, 1969.
- O viajante (Unfinished novel, edited and prefaced by Octavio de Faria). José Olympio, Rio de Janeiro, 1973.
- Poemas inéditos, (Introduced and edited by Octávio de Faria, prefaced by João Etienne Filho), Nova Fronteira, Rio de Janeiro, 1982.