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==References==
==References==

Revision as of 10:31, 11 November 2013

For the paralympian athlete, see Paulo de Almeida Coelho.

Paulo Coelho
Violinist Lord Menuhin and Coelho at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, in 1999
Violinist Lord Menuhin and Coelho at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, in 1999
Born (1947-08-24) August 24, 1947 (age 76)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
OccupationNovelist, Lyricist, Musician
NationalityBrazilian
GenreDrama, Self-improvement, Psychology

Paulo Coelho (Portuguese: [ˈpawlu kuˈeʎu]; born August 24, 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. He has become one of the most widely read authors in the world today. He is the recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. The Alchemist, his most famous novel, has been translated to 80 languages. The author has sold 150 million copies worldwide.

Biography

Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil[1] and attended a Jesuit school. As a teenager, Coelho wanted to become a writer. Upon telling his mother this, she responded with "My dear, your father is an engineer. He's a logical, reasonable man with a very clear vision of the world. Do you actually know what it means to be a writer?"[1] After researching, which was common for him since he was a policy debater when he was in high school, Coelho concluded that a writer "always wears glasses and never combs his hair" and has a "duty and an obligation never to be understood by his own generation," amongst other things.[1] At 16, Coelho's introversion and opposition to following a traditional path led to his parents committing him to a mental institution from which he escaped three times before being released at the age of 20.[2][3][dead link] Coelho later remarked that "It wasn't that they wanted to hurt me, but they didn't know what to do... They did not do that to destroy me, they did that to save me."[4] At his parents' wishes, Coelho enrolled in law school and abandoned his dream of becoming a writer. One year later, he dropped out and lived life as a hippie, traveling through South America, North Africa, Mexico, and Europe and started drugs in the 1960s.[5][6] Upon his return to Brazil, Coelho worked as a songwriter, composing lyrics for Elis Regina, Rita Lee, and Brazilian icon Raul Seixas. Composing with Raul led to Paulo being associated with magic and occultism, due to the content of some songs.[7] In 1974, Coelho was arrested for "subversive" activities by the ruling military government, who had taken power ten years earlier and viewed his lyrics as left-wing and dangerous.[4] Coelho also worked as an actor, journalist, and theatre director before pursuing his writing career.[7]

In 1986, Coelho walked the 500-plus mile Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, a turning point in his life.[5][8] On the path, Coelho had a spiritual awakening, which he described autobiographically in The Pilgrimage.[9] In an interview, Coelho stated "[In 1986], I was very happy in the things I was doing. I was doing something that gave me food and water – to use the metaphor in "The Alchemist", I was working, I had a person whom I loved, I had money, but I was not fulfilling my dream. My dream was, and still is, to be a writer."[10] Coelho would leave his lucrative career as a songwriter and pursue writing full-time.

Writing career

In 1982 Coelho published his first book, Hell Archives, which failed to make a substantial impact.[7] In 1986 he contributed to the Practical Manual of Vampirism, although he later tried to take it off the shelves since he considered it “of bad quality."[7] After making the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1986, Coelho wrote The Pilgrimage. The following year, Coelho wrote The Alchemist and published it through a small Brazilian publishing house who made an initial print run of 900 copies and decided not to reprint.[11] He subsequently found a bigger publishing house, and with the publication of his next book Brida, The Alchemist became a Brazilian bestseller.[11][clarification needed] The Alchemist has gone on to sell more than 65 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books in history, and has been translated into 80 different languages, winning the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author.[7][12]

The Alchemist, easily known as his most successful story, is a story about a young shepherd who follows his spiritual journey to the Egyptian pyramids in search of a treasure.

Since the publication of The Alchemist, Coelho has generally written one novel every two years including By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, The Fifth Mountain, Veronika Decides to Die, The Devil and Miss Prym, Eleven Minutes, Like the Flowing River, The Valkyries and The Witch of Portobello. This dates back to The Pilgrimage: While trying to overcome his procrastination of launching his writing career, Coelho said, "If I see a white feather today, that is a sign that God is giving me that I have to write a new book." Coelho found a white feather in the window of a shop, and began writing that day.[9]

In total, Coelho has published 30 books. Three of them – The Pilgrimage,The Valkyries and Aleph – are autobiographical, while the majority of the rest are fictional, although rooted in his life experiences.[5] Others, like Maktub and The Manual of the Warrior of Light, are collections of essays, newspaper columns, or selected teachings. In total, Coelho has sold more than 150 million books in over 150 countries worldwide (224 territories), and his works have been translated into 80 languages.[6][7] He is the all-time bestselling Portuguese language author.[citation needed]

Coelho also writes up to three blog posts a week at his blog.[13]

Adaptations

Several of Coelho's books have been adapted into other media.

  • 1998 TV Manchete made a 52-episode miniseries based on Brida. This adaptation was written by Jayme Camargo, Sônia Mota and Agélica Lopes, and directed by Walter Avancini. The Brazilian actress Carolina Kasting played Brida. It was the last novel filmed by TV Manchete. It was an audience failure and this adaptation was even reproved by Paulo Coelho himself. Due to the lack of sponsors, it had a premature ending: the last scenes were not recorded, being replaced by screenshots with narrations.
  • 2004 Warner Bros. bought the rights to the film adaptation of The Alchemist. The project stalled and never materialized and the film rights were sold to Harvey Weinstein who will serve as the film's producer.
  • 2007 In June Paulo Coelho announced The Experimental Witch Project, a collaborative project based on The Witch of Portobello.[14]
  • 2009 Veronika Decides to Die was made into a film released in 2009.
  • 2011 In July Coelho ran Aleph, The Video Contest to collaborate and increase interaction with his more than 5,000,000 friends on Facebook. The winner was Turkish artist Raif Kurt.[15]
2007-13-Paul-Macleod

Personal life

Coelho and his wife Christina Oiticica divide their time between Europe and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[16] In 1996, Coelho founded the Paulo Coelho Institute, which provides aid to children and elderly people with financial problems.[17][18] In September 2007, Coelho was named a Messenger of Peace to the UN.[19] He is a practicing Catholic.

  • Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (France)
  • UNESCO special counsellor for “Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences”
  • Board Member of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
  • Member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
  • Member of INI International Advisory Council – Harvard International Negotiation Program
  • Member of the Board, Doha Center of Media Freedom

On May 9, 2006, in Sofia, Bulgaria, Paulo Coelho was awarded by the President of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov the "The Honorable Award of the President of the Republic".[20]

Bibliography

Note: Although the biography section of Coelho's website states that his first book was published in 1982,[7][21] the Official Fan Club Paulo Coelho website lists two additional books published in 1974: The Manifest of Krig-há and Theater For Education.[22]

Year Portuguese Title English Title
1974 O Manifesto de Krig-há The Manifest of Krig-há
1974 Teatro da Educação Theater For Education
1982 Arquivos do Inferno Hell Archives
1986 O Manual Prático do Vampirismo Practical Manual of Vampirism
1988 O Diário de Um Mago The Pilgrimage
1988 O Alquimista The Alchemist
1990 Brida Brida
1991 O Dom Supremo The Greatest Gift
1992 As Valkírias The Valkyries
1994 Maktub Maktub
Na margem do rio Piedra eu sentei e chorei By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
1996 O Monte Cinco The Fifth Mountain
1997 Letras do amor de um profeta Love Letters from a Prophet
Manual do guerreiro da luz Manual of the Warrior of Light
1998 Veronika decide morrer Veronika Decides to Die
Palavras essenciais Essential Words
2000 O Demônio e a srta Prym The Devil and Miss Prym
2001 Histórias para pais, filhos e netos Fathers, Sons and Grandsons
2003 Onze Minutos Eleven Minutes
2004 E no sétimo dia And on the Seventh Day (collection of the novels By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, Veronika Decides to Die and The Devil and Miss Prym)
O Gênio e as Rosas The Genie and the Roses
Viagens Journeys
2005 O Zahir The Zahir
Caminhos Recolhidos Revived Paths
2006 Ser como um rio que flui Like the Flowing River
A bruxa de Portobello The Witch of Portobello
2007 Vida: Citações selecionadas Life: Selected Quotations
2008 O Vencedor está Só The Winner Stands Alone
2010 pt [O Aleph] Aleph
2012 Manuscrito Encontrado em Accra Manuscript Found in Accra

References

  1. ^ a b c Thind, Jessi An Interview with Paulo Coelho MSN Arabia
  2. ^ Schaertl, Markia The Boy from Ipanema: Interview with Paulo Coelho reposted on Paulo Coelho's Blog. December 20, 2007.
  3. ^ Doland, Angela Brazilian author Coelho thrives on contradictions and extremes Oakland Tribune republished on BNet. May 20, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Day, Elizabeth A mystery even to himself The Daily Telegraph. June 14, 2005.
  5. ^ a b c An interview with Brazilian writer, Paulo Coelho: Everybody is a Magus Life Positive. July 2000.
  6. ^ a b Life and Letters: The Magus The New Yorker. May 7, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Biography Official Site of Paulo Coelho. Cite error: The named reference "officialbio" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ Teacher's Guide to The Alchemist Harper Collins Publisher.
  9. ^ a b Reiss, Valerie Paulo Coelho Dances with Angels Beliefnet.
  10. ^ Interview with Paulo Coelho BBC World Service Book Club. December 2004.
  11. ^ a b A Brief History of the Book Saint Jordi Asociados
  12. ^ Film to be made of Coelho's 'Alchemist AFP. May 19, 2008.
  13. ^ "Paulo Coelho's Blog". Paulocoelhoblog.com. October 8, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  14. ^ "The Experimental Witch". Paulo Coelho's Blog.
  15. ^ "Aleph, The Video Contest Winners". Paulo Coelho's Blog.
  16. ^ Riding, Alan Paulo Coelho: Writing in a Global Language The New York Times. August 30, 2005.
  17. ^ Brazil Bestseller Paulo Coelho's Latest Mission: Peace Messenger Brazzil Magazine. September 25, 2007.
  18. ^ Paulo Coelho. "The Paulo Coelho Institute". The Paulo Coelho Institute. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  19. ^ Paulo Coelho United Nations Messengers of Peace.
  20. ^ bol.bg. "Президент На Република България". President.bg. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  21. ^ Sant Jordi Associados Literary Agency: Paulo Coelho's Titles. Retrieved on October 7, 2006.
  22. ^ Official Fanclub Paulo Coelho: Books. Retrieved on October 7, 2006.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Paulo Coelho.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paulo Coelho.

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