Manuel Lopes (writer) facts for kids

Manuel António de Sousa Lopes (born December 23, 1907 – died January 25, 2005) was a famous writer from Cape Verde. He wrote novels, poems, and essays. Manuel Lopes was one of the people who started the magazine Claridade. This magazine was very important for making Cape Verdean literature popular.

He wrote in Portuguese, but he also used words and phrases from Cape Verdean Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole. Manuel Lopes often wrote about the terrible droughts that happened in Cape Verde. These droughts caused many problems and deaths on islands like São Vicente and Santo Antão.

Manuel Lopes's Life Story

Manuel Lopes was born on December 23, 1907, in a city called Mindelo. This city is on the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. At that time, Cape Verde was part of Portugal.

When he was young, he moved to Coimbra in mainland Portugal to go to high school. At 16, he came back to São Vicente. He started working for a British company that managed underwater telegraph cables.

Later, at 23, he worked for an Italian company doing similar work. But he lost this job because of World War II. He then went to live on his farm on the island of Santo Antão.

In 1944, he went back to his first job. He moved to Faial Island in the Azores. After living there for eleven years, he moved to mainland Portugal. Manuel Lopes passed away in Lisbon in 2005. He was 97 years old.

Manuel Lopes's Books and Poems

Manuel Lopes wrote many books. His first work was called Monography of Regional Descriptions, published in 1932. In the same year, he also published Paul.

Some of his other important works include:

• Poems de Quem Ficou (1949)
• Cape Verdean Themes (1950)
• Creole and Other Poems (1964)
• Personagens de Ficção e os seus Modelos (1971)
• Falucho Ancorado (1997), which was a collection of his poems.

His first novel was Chuva Braba, published in 1956. This book won the Fernão Mendes Pinto Award. Another novel, O galo que cantou da baía, also won a Mendes Pinto Award.

His novel Os Flagelados do Vento Leste was even made into a film in 1987. This film was directed by António Faria. The book also won the Prémio Meio Milénio do Achamento de Cabo Verde award.

One of his poems, "Naufrágio," can be found on a music CD called Poesia de Cabo Verde e Sete Poemas de Sebastião da Gama by Afonso Dias.

Honors and Recognition

A street in the city of Praia is named after Manuel Lopes. It is in the neighborhood of Craveiro Lopes.

List of Works by Manuel Lopes

Here are some of the books and poems written by Manuel Lopes:

• Fiction (stories):
  • Chuva Braba, 1956 (won the Fernão Mendes Pinto Award)
  • O galo que cantou na Baía, 1959
  • Os Flagelados do Vento Leste, 1960 (won the Prémio Meio Milénio do Achamento das Ilhas de Cabo Verde)
• Poetry (poems):
  • Horas Vargas, 1934
  • Poemas de quem ficou, 1949
  • Folha Caída, 1960
  • Crioulo e outros poemas (Creole and Other Poems), 1964
  • Falucho Ancorado, 1997
• Prose (essays and other writings):
  • Monografia Descritiva Regional (Monography of Regional Descriptions), 1932
  • Paúl, 1932
  • Temas Cabo-verdianos (Cape Verdean Themes), 1950
  • Os meios pequenos e a cultura, 1951 (an essay)
  • Reflexões sobre a literatura cabo-verdiana (Reflections on Cape Verdean Literature), 1959 (an essay)
  • As personagens de ficção e seus modelos, 1973