José Cardoso Pires

José Cardoso Pires
Born	2 October 1925 São João do Peso, Portugal
Died	26 October 1998 Lisbon, Portugal
Occupation	Novelist, short story writer, journalist, satirist
Nationality	Portuguese
Period	1949 - 1997
Literary movement	Neo-Realism, moving towards Postmodernism

José Cardoso Pires ComL GCM (1925–1998) was a Portuguese author of short stories, novels, plays, and political satire.

Life

Early years

Pires was born in the village of São João do Peso, municipality of Vila de Rei, in the district of Castelo Branco. His father was in the merchant navy and his mother was a homemaker. He studied mathematics at the University of Lisbon, where he published his first short story. He left school to join the Portuguese Navy, from which he was later discharged for disciplinary issues. His writing was greatly influenced by the city of Lisbon in which his novels and short stories described its streets in great detail.

Some of his paternal family members immigrated to Massachusetts, creating a connection to the United States and making him receptive to American styles at a time when Portugal generally looked to France (and somewhat to north-eastern Brazilian regionalism) for its narrative models.

In a documentary produced for Portuguese television, Pires talked about how he would often seek refuge in the cinemas after seeing a film as a boy. He would then recount it to his peers at school — a common practice at the time. According to him, this helped form his notion of story-telling. He also mentioned the formative role of cinceclubes, or film societies. These generally left-leaning associations, in his words, "contributed to the political and social education of many people."

Career

After a short stint in the Portuguese Navy, he began working as a journalist and devoted himself to writing. He developed a reputation as an author who was capable of reconciling popularity with critical acclaim.

Bibliography

His works include:

• Os Caminheiros e Outros Contos 1949
• Histórias de Amor 1952
• O Anjo Ancorado 1958
• O Render dos Heróis 1960
• A Cartilha do Marialva 1960
• Jogos de Azar 1963
• O Hóspede de Job 1963
• O Delfim (The Dauphin; 1968)
• Gente (with Eduardo Gageiro)
• O Dinosauro Excelentíssimo 1972
• E Agora José 1977
• O Burro em Pé 1979
• O Corpo-Delito na Sala de Espelhos 1980
• A Balada de Praia dos Cães (1982; Ballad of Dogs’ Beach : Dossier of a Crime, translated by Mary Fitton. New York : Beaufort Books, 1987. ISBN 0-8253-0416-4, 181 p.)
• Alexandra Alpha 1987; tr. Alexandra Alpha
• A República dos Corvos (Republic of Ravens; 1988)
• A Cavalo no Diabo 1984
• De Profundis, Valsa Lenta 1997
• Lisboa Livro de Bordo 1997

Film adaptations of his work

• Balada da praia dos cães. dir. José Fonseca e Costa
• Casino Oceano. Adaptation of the short story "Week-End". dir. Lauro António
• O Delfim. dir. Fernando Lopes
• A Rapariga dos Fósforos. adaptation of the story "Dom Quixote, as Velhas Viúvas e a Rapariga dos Fósforos". dir. Luís Galvão Teles
• Ritual dos Pequenos Vampiros. Adaptation of the short story of the same name "Jogos de Azar". dir. Eduardo Geada

Prizes

Prizes awarded to the author

• Prémio Internacional União Latina, Roma, 1991
• Astrolábio de Ouro do Prémio Internacional Ultimo Novecento, Pisa, 1992
• Prémio Bordalo de Literatura da Casa da Imprensa, 1994
• Prémio Bordalo de Literatura da Casa da Imprensa, 1997
• Pessoa Prize, 1997
• Grande Prémio Vida Literária da Associação Portuguesa de Escritores, 1998

Prizes awarded to individual works

• Prémio Camilo Castelo Branco, pela Sociedade Portuguesa de Escritores, 1964 (O Hóspede de Job)
• Grande Prémio de Romance e Novela, pela Associação Portuguesa de Escritores, 1982 (Balada da Praia dos Cães)
• Prémio Especial da Associação dos Críticos do Brasil, São Paulo, 1988 (Alexandra Alpha)
• Prémio D. Diniz, da Fundação Casa de Mateus, 1997 (De Profundis, Valsa Lenta)
• Prémio da Crítica do Centro Português da Associação Internacional de Críticos Literários, 1997 (De Profundis, Valsa Lenta)