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| History of Portuguese Literature | Origins of Portuguese Literature | The Portuguese Language | Oral Literature | Fiction | Lyricism |
| Travel Literature | Cantigas de amigo | Historiography | Doctrinal Prose | ||
Miguel Torga
(1907-1995)
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A
general practitioner in Coimbra, he was an extremely fertile polygrapher and a
decisive figure in Portuguese culture in the twentieth century, not only in
literary, but also in civic terms.
 Miguel Torga, Bichos, 18th edition, Coimbra, 1990 |
Being
rather tangential to contemporary aesthetic and ideological trends, he developed
a very personal style in poetry (O Outro
Livro de Job, 1936), fiction (with some remarkable anthologies of short
stories, e.g. Bichos) and other genres,
in which the most notable work is the 16 volumes of his Diário,
a masterpiece of Portuguese literature.
Very
sensitive to the need to root the human being in his own particular environment,
namely in the mountains, he deals with man’s relationship with the world,
whether struggling or in harmony with it, in a recognition of the cosmic
dimension that also underlines the sacred side of existence.
«Creative
Solitude»
She
sleeps and dreams by my side
So distant from me
That I feel like an abandoned lover...
Should I wake her up?
Shout?
The poet is an anguish that is silenced
By singing.
Diário - V
© Instituto Camões, 2001
