João Cabral de Melo Neto

1.1. Early Life and Education

Born in Recife, Pernambuco, on January 6, 1920, João Cabral de Melo Neto spent a significant portion of his youth on his family's sugar-cane mills located in the interior of the state. He came from a notable family, being a cousin to the distinguished poet Manuel Bandeira and the renowned sociologist Gilberto Freyre. In 1940, his family relocated to Rio de Janeiro, a move that would precede the formal launch of his literary career.

1.2. Entry into Diplomacy and Family Life

Two years after his move to Rio, in 1942, Melo Neto self-published his first collection of poems, Pedra do Sono (Slumber Stone), with a limited circulation of 340 copies. This early publication marked the beginning of his prolific poetic journey. In 1945, he embarked on a parallel professional path, applying for a position as a diplomat, a role he would hold for the majority of his adult life. The following year, he married Stella Maria Barbosa de Oliveira, and together they had five children.

1.3. Diplomatic Activities and Literary Development

Melo Neto's diplomatic career took him through various countries. He served for many years in Spain, and his experiences, particularly in Seville, left a profound and palpable influence on his poetry. In 1984, he was appointed consul of Brazil in Porto, Portugal, before eventually returning to Rio de Janeiro three years later, in 1987. Amidst his diplomatic responsibilities, his literary prowess continued to flourish. In 1956, he published his most celebrated work, the auto Morte e Vida Severina. His significant contributions to Brazilian letters were further recognized in 1968, when he was elected to the 37th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.

1.4. Later Years and Death

In 1986, João Cabral de Melo Neto married Marly de Oliveira, marking another significant personal event in his life. Two years later, in 1988, he retired from his diplomatic service, resigning from his post as ambassador. João Cabral de Melo Neto passed away on October 9, 1999, in Rio de Janeiro, concluding a career that spanned over five decades, during which he published 18 books of poetry and two plays.

2.1. Characteristic Style and Philosophy

Melo Neto's approach to poetry is often likened to that of an engineer designing a building, a metaphor he himself embraced. He believed that "Poetry is not the product of inspiration triggered by feeling, but the product of the poet's patient and lucid work." This philosophy translated into a highly rigorous, yet inventive, attention to the formal aspects of verse. His characteristic sound emerged from a traditional verse structure of five or seven syllables, known as `redondilha<sub>redondilha (a traditional verse structure)</sub><sup>Portuguese</sup>`, and a consistent use of oblique rhymes. His early poetry displayed surrealist tendencies and a debt to Cubism, as noted by literary critic Antonio Candido regarding his first book, Pedra do Sono. Candido observed how Melo Neto's poems were constructed from an accumulation of concrete and sensory images, utilizing words in an almost pictorial manner, reflecting a rich and tangible approach to language.

2.2. Social and Regional Themes

Despite his formal rigor, Melo Neto was acutely attentive to the social realities of his native Pernambuco. In O cão sem plumas (`O cão sem plumas<sub>O cão sem plumas ("A Dog without Feathers")</sub><sup>Portuguese</sup>`), his first long poem dating from 1950, he powerfully depicted the lives of the impoverished classes who depended on the Capibaribe River, and described the arduous toil within the sugar-cane mills. Three years later, in O Rio (`O Rio<sub>O Rio ("The River")</sub><sup>Portuguese</sup>`), he adopted the perspective of the river itself, narrating in the first person its course and the villages and landscapes it traversed. These works vividly reflect his deep engagement with social issues, particularly the pervasive poverty and inequality in northeastern Brazil.

2.3. Influence on Brazilian Poetry

João Cabral de Melo Neto's unique poetic language had a significant and lasting impact on subsequent movements in Brazilian poetry. Augusto de Campos, a key figure in Brazilian Concrete poetry, acknowledged Melo Neto's influence, stating that while Melo Neto might not have had direct antecedents in Brazilian poetry, his work certainly had profound consequences. Campos highlighted how Concrete poetry would sustain, continue, expand, and broaden the kind of poetic language that Melo Neto championed: a language that is not sentimental but objective, a poetry of `concretude<sub>concretude (concreteness)</sub><sup>Portuguese</sup>`, and critically engaged. This underscores Melo Neto's role as a precursor to Concrete poetry and his contribution to shaping an objective and critical poetic language in Brazil.

3.1. Poetry Collections

Throughout his career, João Cabral de Melo Neto published 18 books of poetry, many of which are considered milestones in Brazilian literature. They include:

• 1942: Pedra do Sono (Slumber Stone)
• 1943: Os Três Mal-Amados (The Three Unloved)
• 1945: O Engenheiro (The Engineer)
• 1947: Psicologia da Composição com a Fábula de Anfion e Antiode (Psychology of Composition with the Fable of Amphion and Anti-Ode)
• 1950: O Cão sem Plumas (The Dog without Feathers)
• 1953: O Rio ou Relação da Viagem que Faz o Capibaribe de Sua Nascente à Cidade do Recife (The River or On the Course of the Capibaribe River from Its Source to the City of Recife)
• 1960: Dois Parlamentos (Two Parliaments)
• 1960: Quaderna
• 1966: A Educação pela Pedra (Education by the Stone)
• 1975: Museu de Tudo (Museum of Everything)
• 1980: A Escola das Facas (The School of the Knives)
• 1984: Auto do Frade (The Friar's Way)
• 1985: Agrestes
• 1987: Crime na Calle Relator (Crime in Relator Street)
• 1990: Primeiros Poemas (First Poems)
• 1990: Sevilha Andando (Walking around Seville)

3.2. Plays

While primarily known for his poetry, João Cabral de Melo Neto also ventured into dramatic writing:

• 1955: Morte e Vida Severina (Life and Death of a Severino), a highly acclaimed auto (play) that was partially translated by Elizabeth Bishop.