Paulo Coelho
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Paulo Coelho | |
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![]() Coelho during the World Economic Forum (2007) | |
Born | Paulo Coelho de Souza 24 August 1947 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Occupation |
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Language | Portuguese |
Nationality | Brazilian |
Genre | Drama, Romance |
Years active | 1974–present |
Notable works | The Alchemist |
Spouse | Christina Oiticica |
Website | |
paulocoelhoblog |
Paulo Coelho de Souza (/ˈkwɛl.juː, kuˈɛl-, -joʊ/;[1] Portuguese: [ˈpawlu kuˈeʎu]; born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist, best known for his novel The Alchemist. In 2014, he uploaded his personal papers online to create a virtual Paulo Coelho Foundation.
Biography
Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and attended a Jesuit school. As a teenager, Coelho wanted to become a writer. Upon telling his mother this, she responded, "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?" At 17, 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] Coelho was born into a Catholic family, and his parents were strict about the religion and faith.[4] 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."[5] 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 using drugs in the 1960s.[6][7]
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 Coelho being associated with magic and occultism, due to the content of some songs.[8] In 1974, by his account, he was arrested for "subversive" activities and tortured[9][10] by the ruling military government, who had taken power ten years earlier and viewed his lyrics as left-wing and dangerous.[5] Coelho also worked as an actor, journalist and theatre director before pursuing his writing career.[8]
Coelho married artist Christina Oiticica in 1980. Together they had previously spent half the year in Rio de Janeiro and the other half in a country house in the Pyrenees Mountains of France, but now the pair reside permanently in Geneva, Switzerland.[11]
In 1986 Coelho walked the 500-plus mile Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain.[6][12] On the path, he had a spiritual awakening, which he described autobiographically in The Pilgrimage.[13] 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."[14] Coelho would leave his lucrative career as a songwriter and pursue writing full-time.
The Pilgrim – Story of Paulo Coelho is the international title for the biographical film Não Pare na Pista, a co-production between Brazil’s Dama Filmes and the Spanish Babel Films, in which the younger and older Coelho is played by two different actors. One of the producers, Iôna de Macêdo, told Screen International: "The film tells the story of a man who has a dream. It's a little like Alice in Wonderland – he's someone who is too big for his house." The film, shot in Portuguese, had its premiere in Brazilian Theaters on 2014, and was internationally distributed in 2015.[15]
Career
Writing
In 1982, Coelho published his first book, Hell Archives, which failed to make a substantial impact.[8] 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."[8] After making the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1986, Coelho wrote The Pilgrimage, published in 1987. The following year, Coelho wrote The Alchemist and published it through a small Brazilian publishing house that made an initial print run of 900 copies and decided not to reprint it.[16] He subsequently found a bigger publishing house, and with the publication of his next book Brida, The Alchemist took off. HarperCollins decided to publish the book in 1994. Later it became an international bestseller.[16]
While trying to overcome his procrastination about 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.[13] Since the publication of The Alchemist, Coelho has generally written at least one novel every two years. Four of them – The Pilgrimage, Hippie, The Valkyries and Aleph – are autobiographical, while the majority of the rest are broadly fictional.[6] Other books, like Maktub, The Manual of the Warrior of Light and Like the Flowing River, are collections of essays, newspaper columns, or selected teachings. His work has been published in more than 170 countries and translated into eighty languages. Together, his books have sold in the hundreds of millions.[17] On 22 December 2016, Coelho was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 2 in the list of 200 most influential contemporary authors.[18]
However, reactions to his writing have not been without controversy. Though he was raised in a Catholic family, and describes himself as of that faith even now, his stance has been described as incompatible with the Catholic faith, because of its New Age, pantheist and relativist contents.[19] And whatever his sales, reviews of Coelho's later work consistently note its superficiality.[20][21][22]
In 2016 he was contacted by Kobe Bryant, who wanted to discuss a children's book project with him. Some month's before Bryant's death, they started to write the book together. After hearing about the helicopter accident, Coelho decided to delete the whole draft.[23]
Bibliography
Year | Portuguese title | English title |
---|---|---|
1974 | Teatro da Educação | Theater For Education |
1982 | Arquivos do Inferno | Hell Archives |
1987 | O Diário de um Mago | The Pilgrimage |
1988 | O Alquimista | The Alchemist |
1990 | Brida | Brida |
1991 | O Dom Supremo | The Supreme 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 | Cartas de 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 | Historias para pais, filhos e netos | Fathers, Sons and Grandsons |
2003 | Onze Minutos | Eleven Minutes |
2004 | O Gênio e as Rosas | The Genie and the Roses |
Viagens | Journeys | |
Vida | Life | |
2005 | O Zahir | The Zahir |
Caminhos Recolhidos | Revived Paths | |
2006 | Ser Como o Rio que Flui | Like the Flowing River |
A Bruxa de Portobello | The Witch of Portobello | |
2008 | O vencedor está só | The Winner Stands Alone |
2009 | Amor | Love |
2010 | Aleph | Aleph |
2011 | Fábulas | |
2012 | Manuscrito Encontrado em Accra | Manuscript Found in Accra |
2014 | Adultério | Adultery |
2016 | A Espiã | The Spy |
2018 | Hippie | Hippie |
Others
On 1 May 2018, it was announced the Coelho signed for a TV series based on the characters of his novels The Devil and Miss Prym, Brida and The Witch of Portobello.[24][25]
References
- ^ J C Wells (2008) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Pearson Education Limited.
- ^ Schaertl, Markia The Boy from Ipanema: Interview with Paulo Coelho reposted on Paulo Coelho's Blog. 20 December 2007.
- ^ Doland, Angela Brazilian author Coelho thrives on contradictions and extremes Oakland Tribune published on The Washington Post. 12 May 2007.
- ^ Hollow Verse, Dot Com (12 April 2011). "Paulo Coelho Bio". Hollow Verse.
- ^ a b Day, Elizabeth A mystery even to himself The Daily Telegraph. 14 June 2005.
- ^ a b c An interview with Brazilian writer, Paulo Coelho: Everybody is a Magus Archived 9 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine Life Positive. July 2000.
- ^ Life and Letters: The Magus The New Yorker. 7 May 2007.
- ^ a b c d Biography Official Site of Paulo Coelho.
- ^ The Washington Post (29 March 2019). "I was tortured by Brazil's dictatorship. Is that what Bolsonaro wants to celebrate?". Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ Coelho, Paulo (30 March 2019). "28/5/1974". Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ Brasileira, Cultura. "Interview with Paulo Coelho". Archived from the original on June 12, 2016.
- ^ Teacher's Guide to The Alchemist Archived 27 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Harper Collins Publisher.
- ^ a b Reiss, Valerie Paulo Coelho Dances with Angels Beliefnet.
- ^ Interview with Paulo Coelho BBC World Service Book Club. December 2004.
- ^ "Picture Tree Acquires Paulo Coelho Biopic 'The Pilgrim'". PMC. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ a b A Brief History of the Book Archived 2 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine Saint Jordi Asociados
- ^ Karen Heller, Meet the writers who still sell millions of books. Actually, hundreds of millions, The Washington Post
- ^ "Authors Top 200: From J.K. Rowling to T. Harv Eker, These Are the Most Influential Authors in the World". Richtopia. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ^ Santamaría, Luis (23 July 2014). "Paulo Coelho: ¿alguna objeción desde la fe cristiana?" [Paulo Coelho: any objection from the Christian faith?]. Aleteia (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "Adam Mars-Jones finds Paulo Coelho hurtling towards stupidity as he reaches for wisdom in The Zahir", The Observer, 19 June 2005
- ^ Rebecca K. Morrison, "New novels fails to stimulate", The Independent, 14 September 2014
- ^ Cameron Woodhead, "Paulo Coelho's fictional take on Mata Hari misses the mark", The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 January 2017
- ^ Co-Author of Kobe Bryant Children's Book Deletes Unfinished Draft
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (1 May 2018). "Drama Series Based On Books By 'The Alchemist' Author Paulo Coelho In Works At FremantleMedia North America".
- ^ "Paulo Coelho signs with FremantleMedia for first TV series".
External links
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- Paulo Coelho
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