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José Saramago was a Portuguese novelist who lived from 1922 to 2010 and became one of the most important literary figures of the 20th century. His imaginative fiction explored philosophical and social themes, earning him widespread recognition and influence on contemporary literature.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 16 November 1922
- Died
- 18 June 2010
- Works
- 666
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Writing · Azinhaga, Santarém, Portugal
José de Sousa Saramago was a Portugese author and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the theopoetic human factor.
Known for
- El Quijote desde la platea — Self - Writer (archive footage)2019
- José Saramago: Memorial do Convento — Himself2011
- José & Pilar — Self2010
- José Saramago: Raised from the Ground — Himself2008
- The Biggest Flower in the World — Narrator2007
- Santa María de Iquique, cien años después — Himself2007
- Azinhaga2007
- Oscar Niemeyer: Life is a Breath of Air — Self2007
Article
José de Sousa Saramago ( European Portuguese: [ʒuˈzɛ ðɨ ˈso(w)zɐ sɐɾɐˈmaɣu]; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010) was a Portuguese writer. He was the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony [with which he] continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality." His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the theopoetic human factor. In 2003 Harold Bloom described Saramago as "the most gifted novelist alive in the world today" and in 2010 said he considers Saramago to be "a permanent part of the Western canon", while James Wood praises "the distinctive tone to his fiction because he narrates his novels as if he were someone both wise and ignorant."
More than two million copies of Saramago's books have been sold in Portugal alone and his work has been translated into 25 languages. A proponent of libertarian communism, Saramago criticized institutions such as the Catholic Church, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. An atheist, he defended love as an instrument to improve the human condition. In 1992, the Government of Portugal under Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva ordered the removal of one of his works, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, from the Aristeion Prize's shortlist, claiming the work was religiously offensive. Feeling disheartened by what he perceived as political censorship of his work, Saramago went into exile on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, where he lived alongside his Spanish wife Pilar del Río until his death in 2010.
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1922 births2010 deaths20th-century atheists20th-century Portuguese dramatists and playwrights20th-century Portuguese male writers20th-century Portuguese novelists21st-century atheists21st-century Portuguese male writers21st-century Portuguese novelistsActivists for Palestinian solidarityAtheism activistsCamões Prize winners