Alberto Osório de Castro

Alberto Osório de Castro (born March 1, 1868 in Coimbra , † January 1, 1946 in Lisbon ) was a Portuguese poet, journalist and lawyer. In 1918 he was Minister of Justice of Portugal under Sidónio Pais .

He is considered an important exponent of Orientalism in Portuguese literature.

Live and act

He studied law in Coimbra and was interested in literature from an early age. He wrote for the magazine "Boemia Nova" together with António Nobre . He was lifelong friendship with Camilo Pessanha . He also founded the magazine "Nova Tempo", where the first poems of his best friend Pessanha appeared.

Osorio served in the civil service in Angola , India and East Timor . He was Minister of Justice under Sidónio Pais in 1918 as the successor to Martinho Nobre de Melo .

He lived in Goa from 1894 to 1907, where he was a judge and state proxy for the crown. 1907 to 1908 worked as a judge in Angola. From 1908 to 1911 in Dili , East Timor, since 1911 back in Angola ( Luanda ). In 1928 he became Vice President of the Uniao Portuguesa de Ultramar (the Portuguese Overseas Union). As a member of the jury of a competition, he awarded Fernando Pessoa's only volume of poems, Mensagem, with a second place.

As a Freemason , he had been a member of the Lodge Oceana in Dili since 1911. He founded the magazine "O Oriente Portugues" in Goa in 1907 and the new library of the city of Goa. He was also very interested in scientific and anthropological-ethnological topics and carried out amateur research and publication on these areas with the knowledge that he had acquired in the colonies on these topics.

His first book, the collection of poems "Exiladas", was published in 1895. His favorite literary genres and styles were decadence, symbolism and parnassism .

Work (selection)

Exiladas, 1895, poems,
A cinza dos Mirtos, 1906, poems.
Flores de Coral, 1909, poems.
O sinal de sombra, 1923, poems.
A ilha verde ea vermelha de Timor, 1943, non-fiction book about Timor.

swell

personal data
SURNAME	Castro, Alberto Osório de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Portuguese poet, journalist and lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH	March 1, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH	Coimbra , Portugal
DATE OF DEATH	January 1, 1946
Place of death	Lisbon , Portugal