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U.Porto Memory

University of Porto Famous Alumni

Papiniano Carlos

	Papiniano Carlos 1918-2012 Writer (poet and fiction writer)
"Era uma vez uma menina chamada Gotinha de Água. A menina Gotinha de Água vivia no mar sem fim. E era linda, tão linda, vestida de esmeralda e luar. Ora no fundo, ora nas vagas coberta de espuma, ela brincava com suas irmãs.(…)" (A Menina Gotinha de Água)

Papiniano Manuel Carlos de Vasconcelos Rodrigues was born in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), Mozambique, on 9 November 1918.

At the age of 10, he came with his mother to Porto, where he attended the Alexandre Herculano High School and then was admitted to university. He did his preparatory studies at the Military School in the academic year 1936/1937) and attended the following courses: Electronic Engineering (academic year 1941/1942), Mechanical Engineering (1948/1949) at the Faculty of Engineering, and Geophysical Sciences (1951/1952, 1955/1956 1956/1957) at the Faculty of Sciences.

He published his first book in 1942, a volume of poems entitled Esboço. Four years later, he published Estrada Nova – Caderno de Poemas, with a cover drawn by Júlio Pomar. This book was well appreciated by the public but the International Police State Defense (PIDE), quite insensitive to the social and democratic inspiration of the author, confiscated it. In that same year, he also published Terra com sede, which marks his début in fiction, and which brings together some of the most beautiful tales of Portuguese Neo-Realism, such as Nana, Tocador de Harmónica.

In the late 1940s, Papiniano settled in Porto, where, as a clandestine opponent, he fought against the fascist regime of Salazar, using the pseudonym Garcia, in honour of the Andalucía poet Federico Garcia Lorca, executed by General Franco's supporters in 1936. He was arrested three times by PIDE. As a member of the Portuguese council for Peace and Cooperation, he often travelled abroad. It was on one of those trips that he became friends with the poet Pablo Neruda, at the time Ambassador of Chile in Paris.

Besides writing and being involved in political activism, he was also dedicated to cultural activities. From the 50s on, along with Egito Gonçalves, Luís Veiga Leitão, António Rebordão Navarro and Daniel Filipe, he directed the magazine entitled Notícias de Bloqueio. Similarly, he collaborated in the magazines "Seara Nova" and "Vértice"; in the latter, he was responsible for the critique and poetry section. He was part of the governing bodies of the Círculo de Cultura Teatral [Cultural Centre for Performing Arts] of Teatro Experimental do Porto.

In the 60s, he published A Menina Gotinha de Água, a children's poetry book which is one of his greatest editorial successes and is said to be responsible for the renovation of this type of literary genre, particularly with regard to its role in children's education. This book was repeatedly reprinted over the years, and has illustrations by João Câmara Leme, João Nunes and Joana Quental.

Among other books on poetry, drama and fiction, he published: Mãe Terra (poems, 1948); "As Florestas e os Ventos – contos e poemas" (1952) [tales and poems]; A rosa nocturna (chronicles, 1961); A ave sobre a cidade (poems, 1973) and O rio na Treva (novel, 1975). For children and youth, he wrote: Luisinho e as andorinhas (1977), O grande lagarto da pedra azul (1989). His work is included in several anthology works such as Antologias Líricas Portuguesas, Antologia da Novíssima Poesia Portuguesa, Nueva Poesia Portuguesa, La Poésie Ibérique de Combat. He is a tireless intellectual who hopes to one day compile all his poetry works in one single volume.

During the 1980s, he published another children's book – "A Viagem de Alexandra" –, which tells the story of blood circulation through the body of a girl, illustrated by Manuela Bacelar and edited by Porto Editora, reprinted in 2008 by Arca das Letras, with new illustrations by Elsa Lé.

Some of his poems were set to music by Luís Cília, Manuel Teixeira Ruela, Fernando Lopes Graça, Joaquim Fernandes and Carlos Mendes, for example "Canção de Catarina", by Lopes Graça, in memory of Catarina Eufémia, a very resistant woman from Alentejo.

His life was dedicated to writing and the fight for freedom. He was one of the last living representatives of the second Neo-Realist generation, a promoter of Portuguese-speaking African literature, a great humanist and cultural activist.
He lived in Maia with Olívia Vasconcelos, his long-time companion. He died at the age of 94, on December 5^th.
(Universidade Digital / Gestão de Informação, 2008)