Escola Secundária EB3 Dr. Jorge Correia – Escola Secundária EB3 Dr. Jorge Correia – TaviraTavira

PORTUGALPORTUGAL

eTWINNING PROJECT: NOBEL PRIZE eTWINNING PROJECT: NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS OF LITERATUREWINNERS OF LITERATURE

José saramago – 1998 NOBEL PRIZE WINNERJosé saramago – 1998 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

CLASS: 10º A2

TEACHER: Ana Cristina Matias

SCHOOL YEAR: 2007/2008

1. The 1. The ManMan

José José SaramagoSaramago

1.1 José Saramago1.1 José Saramago

• Son and grandson of uneducated peasants.Son and grandson of uneducated peasants.

• His grandfather, Jerónimo Meirinho, was a shepherd His grandfather, Jerónimo Meirinho, was a shepherd

and a story teller, even though he was illiterate.and a story teller, even though he was illiterate.

• His grandmother, Josefa Caixinha, had an unusual His grandmother, Josefa Caixinha, had an unusual

beauty.beauty.

• His father’s grandparents, João and Carolina, are those His father’s grandparents, João and Carolina, are those

who he “never learned to love”.who he “never learned to love”.

José SaramagoJosé Saramago

• His mother’s name was Maria da Piedade.His mother’s name was Maria da Piedade.

• His father, José de Sousa, was a soldier in the First His father, José de Sousa, was a soldier in the First

World War, in France, and then became a farmer. World War, in France, and then became a farmer.

• Later, he went to Lisbon, and became a police Later, he went to Lisbon, and became a police

officer.officer.

José SaramagoJosé Saramago

• NAME: José de Sousa Saramago NAME: José de Sousa Saramago

• PLACE OF BIRTH: Village of Azinhaga, council of PLACE OF BIRTH: Village of Azinhaga, council of

Golegã,Golegã,

Ribatejo, PortugalRibatejo, Portugal

• BIRTH: November 16BIRTH: November 16thth, 1922., 1922.

Sílvia Fernandes and Marina Amorim, 10º A2

1.2 José Saramago: district place of birth

RIBATEJO

José Saramago: district place of birth

• Region in the centre of Portugal which includes the lands of the banks of the river Tagus, and so it has excellent agricultural resources.

• The River Tagus runs through this area from NE to SW.

• Ribatejo is famous for its wines, good country fields for bulls and horses, typical prairie workmen (campinos) and Portuguese bull fights.

RIBATEJO

José Saramago: district place of birthSantarém, Ribatejo’s main Santarém, Ribatejo’s main citycity

José Saramago: council place of birth

GOLEGÃOne of Ribatejo’s councils, divided into two parish councils:

AZINHAGA, birth place of José Saramago;

GOLEGÃ, known for its traditional horse fair.

AZINHAGA• Parish Council of Golegã’s municipality, very

traditional and charming.

• José Saramago misses his homeland but remembers it

with joy. In one of his books, he says so and adds that

he remembers his family members and friends who

remain there.

José Saramago: homeland

A. Rita Ribeiro and Joana Pereira, 10º A2

1.3 From childhood to adulthood

Portuguese writer winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

When he was 3,6 and 10 years old

When José Saramago’s father, José da Silva, went to

enrol

his son at school, his enrolment was rejected because

his son

didn’t have the same name as his father. Saramago’s

father

had to change his name from José da Silva to José

Saramago,

a family nickname.

• At the age of two, he went to live with his parents in

Lisbon.

• Only at the age of eleven did he receive his first book

(O Mistério do Moinho).

• At the age of twelve, because of economic problems,

he had to change to a Technical School.

• But when he was eighteen, he already attended the

Library of Palácio das Galveias and in that library he

tried to read everything he could.

JOSÉ SARAMAGO:

• In 1944, he married a painter, Ilda Reis, from whom he divorced in In 1944, he married a painter, Ilda Reis, from whom he divorced in

1970.1970.

• In 1947, his only daughter, Violante, was born and he published In 1947, his only daughter, Violante, was born and he published

his first novel “his first novel “Terra do PecadoTerra do Pecado” (” (The Land of SinThe Land of Sin, not translated , not translated

yet).yet).

• He worked as a mechanic, a technical designer, an administrative He worked as a mechanic, a technical designer, an administrative

civil servant in the Health and Welfare Departments, a production civil servant in the Health and Welfare Departments, a production

manager and a translator.manager and a translator.

• In 1949, he wrote “In 1949, he wrote “ClarabóiaClarabóia” (Skylight), which was refused by the ” (Skylight), which was refused by the

publisher.publisher.

JOSÉ SARAMAGO:

•   

JOSÉ SARAMAGO:

Diogo Carmo and Helena Martins, 10ºA2

In 1966, he published his first poetry book “Os Poemas

Possíveis” ( Possible Poems).

In 1970, he published a new book of poetry, named

“Provavelmente Alegria” (Probably Joy).

From 1968, he was a columnist and wrote regular

newspaper articles, joining them subsequently in the book

“Deste Mundo e do Outro” (From this World and the

Other,1971) and “A bagagem do Viagante” (The

Traveller’s Baggage, 1973).

1.4 JOSE SARAMAGO’S LIFE AFTER THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION1.4 JOSE SARAMAGO’S LIFE AFTER THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION

On April 25th, 1974, Portugal became a democratic country

and Saramago was called to work in the Ministry of Social

Communication.

1975 – Saramago was appointed deputy director of a

national newspaper, Diário de Notícias, but he was fired on

November 25th.

Saramago dedicated himself totally to writing and

translations, and since 1976 he has made his living

exclusively from his literary work.

Many were the books he wrote and prizes he won, such as:

• 1980- What will I do with this book? (a play) and Risen

from the floor (a novel). He was awarded the

«Prémio Cidade de Lisboa» and «Prémio Internacional

Ennio Flaiano, Italy».

• 1982- He received two awards «PEN Clube Português» and

the «Prémio Literário do Município

de Lisboa», for his new success,

Baltasar and Blimunda.

• 1985 – He was awarded the prize

«Comendador da Ordem Militar de

Santiago de Espada».

Milton Brito and António Kamota, 10ºA2

1.5 José Saramago & Pilar del Río

María del Pilar del Río Sánchez had

never heard of José Saramago until

the day she read the novel Baltasar

and Blimunda (1982).

After each page she read, she began

thinking that Saramago was a man

that had an absolutely modern and

contemporaneous view of the world.

Their first meeting was in

Lisbon, and they found out

they were both great admires

of the twentieth century

Portuguese poet, Fernando

Pessoa.

After six months, they met

once again in Seville (Spain)

and then became closer and

closer.

Saramago’s relationship with

Pilar del Río began in 1986.

After two years they got

married.

They married on the 16th July

1988, in Castril, Spain.

In 1992, he went to live to

Lanzarote, Canary Islands

(Spain), because by then José

Saramago was very dissapointed

with the unfair criticism of some

Portuguese politicians regarding

his novels, namely, The Gospel

According to Jesus Christ.

As his wife had a house in

Lanzarote, they moved to this

island where he could write in

peace. Andreia Domingos and Andreia Sousa, 10º A2

9th of October 19981998

1.6 1.6 José Saramago’ s Nobel Prize Award

In 1998, The Nobel Prize for

Literature was awarded to José

Saramago for the collection of

his works, which had gained

great popularity after the

novels Baltasar and Blimunda

and Blindness, among others.

In his speech, Saramago talked

about his mother’s parents

and thanked them.

One of the Writer’s reactions

José Saramago: «I’m Portuguese, I don’t want and I

can’t be anything else, but by varied circumstances

my country grew, which is the best thing we can

wish ... I wasn’t born for this ... The fact of being a

Nobel prize winner doesn’t mean that I’m the only

one that deserved it in Portugal. Fernando Pessoa

deserved a thousand Nobel Prizes.»

Hélio Queimado and Tatiana Nascimento, 10ºA2

2. Saramgo’s literary work

• Almost Object (1978)

• Hearing (1979)

• The Tale of the Unknown Island (1997)

• The Biggest Flower of the World (2001)

Saramago has a vast literary work. He has already

published short stories, novels, poetry, diaries and

drama plays, among others.

.. 2.1 Short stories

Almost Object

Compilation of six short stories:

• - Chair;

• - Embargo

• - Reflow

• - Things

• - Centaur

• - Revenge

The Tale of the Unknown Island

• In the short story “The Tale of the

Unknown Island”, a servant goes to

the petitions door of the palace and

asks the king for a boat to go in

search of an unknown island, but

the king denied the existence of an

unknown island. After having

insisted and with good arguments,

he obtains the boat. He then sets

out in search of his island, followed

by the cleaning lady.

João dos Santos and Hélio Valente, 10ºA2

2.2 NOVELS

Since he is a writer, Saramago has already published 14 novels:Since he is a writer, Saramago has already published 14 novels:

Levantado do Chão, 1980 (Risen from the , 1980 (Risen from the ground)ground)

The year of the death The year of the death

of Ricardo Reis,1984of Ricardo Reis,1984

Terra do Pecado, 1947 ( ( The Land of Sin)The Land of Sin)

Manual de Pintura e Caligrafia, 1977 (Manual of painting and hand-writing)(Manual of painting and hand-writing)

The Stone Raft, 1986The Stone Raft, 1986

The History of the siege of Lisbon The History of the siege of Lisbon , ,

19891989

Baltasar and Blimunda , Baltasar and Blimunda , 1991 1991

Blindness Blindness , 1995 , 1995

All The NamesAll The Names, 1997, 1997

The CaveThe Cave, 2000, 2000

The Double, 2002The Double, 2002

Seeing Seeing , 2004 , 2004

Death at intervals, 2005Death at intervals, 2005

Baltasar and Blimunda

The novel’s action takes place in the kingdom of D. João V

(18th century) then it focuses on the building of the Mafra

Convent, the first air navigation experience by the priest

Bartolomeu Lourenço and two fictional characters, Baltasar

and Blimunda.

The year of the death of Ricardo Reis

Ricardo Reis, a fictitious name and character of the famous

poet Fernando Pessoa, arrived in Lisbon, coming from

Brasil, because he missed his friends. But, his creator,

Fernando Pessoa, had already died and he would only have

some more months of life to enjoy the Portuguese capital,

Lisbon.

Ângelo Leal and Tiago Avô, 10 A2

In these diaries, José Saramago portrays events of

the years in which these were written.

2.3 Diaries

The first of these was the Diary from Lanzarote, I-

1994 and the last one the Diary from Lanzarote, V.

Diaries

• Diary from Lanzarote I, 1994• Diary from Lanzarote II, 1995 • Diary from Lanzarote III, 1996 • Diary from Lanzarote IV, 1997 • Diary from Lanzarote V, 1998

Poetry books

1966 - Os Poemas Possíveis (The Possible Poems)

1970 - Provavelmente Alegria (Probably Joy)

1975 - O Ano de 1993 ( The year of 1993)

2.4 poetry

This was José

Saramago’s first work in

poetry (1996).

These poems demand

liberty, fraternity and the

fight for good values. A

disguised fight, because

the repression in the

sixties was very severe. It

was a time when Salazar,

a dictator, ruled Portugal.

Poems of shadow and

light, of darkness and

sea, of typical

Portuguese bitterness

and sadness, but also

of love.

(THE POSSIBLE POEMS) (PROBABLY JOY)

Tânia do Carmo and Verónica Rodrigues, 10º A2

Rhyme less poems

which talk about the

future of Saramago’s

writing.

Poems of despair

but also of hope.

( The year of 1993 )

2.5

José Saramago has already written several plays:

• The night (1979)

• What will I do with this book? (1980)

• The second life of Francis of Assisi’ (1987)

• In Nomine Dei (1993)

• Don Giovanni (2005)

The Plays...

• It is set in a newspaper editor office, in Lisbon, on

the night that became famous in Portuguese

History: April 24th to the 25th, 1974

• The irony of this play is also set on this night in

which the editors and journalists entered in

conflict.

The Night

• The question is asked by the great Portuguese poet

of the 16th century, Camões, near the end of the

play, and the book to which he refers is of course Os

Lusíadas.

• The play is set between Camões’ arrival to Lisbon

(from India and Mozambique), and the troubles he

had to publish “Os Lusíadas”. An epic poem that

praises the Portuguese people.

What Will I Do With This Book?

• In this play there is a fight

between reason and strength.

• We’re in 1986, computores

already exist, and a lot has

changed.

“Things aren’t what they were”, is

said by one of the characters.

“There have been many changes

and not all can be seen”.

The Second Life of Francis of Assisi

In Nomine DeiA quotation of the play:

«Between man, with his reason, and

the animals with their instinct, who

would be better suited to govern over

life? If dogs had created a god they

would fight over a name to give him.»

Kush Lescrooge, 10º A2

José Saramago’s books have already been

translated into 42 other languages and some have

been adapted to opera and to cinema.

José Saramago’s books have already been

translated into 42 other languages and some have

been adapted to opera and to cinema.