Sebastião da Gama

Sebastião da Gama , actually Sebastião Artur Cardoso da Cunha Gama (born April 10, 1924 in Vila Nogueira de Azeitão , Setúbal District , Portugal ; † February 7, 1952 in Lisbon , Portugal) was an important Portuguese poet and teacher.

Life

Sebastião da Gama was born in a small community in the Setubal district. Since childhood he suffered from tuberculosis , the disease that ultimately cost him his life. He studied Romance Philology at the Literary Faculty of the University of Lisbon and graduated in 1947. He then worked as a teacher at various schools in Lisbon, Setubal and Estremoz . In 1951 he married.

In the 1940s he also wrote for the magazines " Arvore " and " Tavola Redonda ". He was described as a man who was a poet in his whole being , in every gesture, in every word he spoke. He made his debut as a poet in 1945 with the volume " Serra Mae ".

He was in correspondence with the well-known Portuguese writer David Mourão-Ferreira . Today a school in Setubal is named after the poet. One of the most important literary and poetry prizes in the country, the Premio Nacional da Poesia-Sebastiao da Gama , has also been awarded every two years since 1989.

The poet died on February 7, 1952 in a hospital in Lisbon.

The work of Sebastiao da Gama

The main themes of his work were love, nature, the essence of man and the Serra da Arrabida he loved so much , in which he had lived for a long time in his life and which he often sang about. He also wrote a madrigal and poem about Amalia Rodrigues . Just as important as his poetry, however, is his diary , which he has kept since 1949 and which he wrote in English and French. The message contained therein that the most important thing for people is to be led to the good and children can only be educated for good and beautiful through poetry, found many followers in Portugal and made it in the few years that remained , and also very popular posthumously. He hoped to reach other countries with his embassy, ​​so he wrote in the other languages.

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• Serra Mae, 1945, poetry.
• Loas a Nossa Senhora da Arrabida, 1946 (co-author, together with Miguel Caleiro), poetry.
• Cabo da Boa Esperanca, 1947, poetry.
• Diario (the diary), kept from 1949 to 1952.
• Campo Aberto, 1951, poetry.
• Lugar de Bocage na Poesia Portuguesa, (The place of Bocage in Portuguese poetry), paperback , published by the University of Lisbon, on the occasion of a conference of the same title in 1950; 1953 (posthumously) (da Gama was the author of the complete publication).
• Pelo sonho e que vamos, 1953, poetry. (posthumously).
• Itinerariu paralelo, 1967, poetry. (posthumously).
• O segredo e amor, 1969, poetry (posthumous).
• Cartas I, (letters), 1994. (posthumously).

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• Biografia de Sebastião da Gama. astormentas.com, accessed October 20, 2011 (Portuguese). 
• Sebastião da Gama. infopedia.pt, accessed October 20, 2011 (Portuguese). 
• O Poeta, O Professor, O Homem. prof2000.pt, accessed October 20, 2011 (Portuguese).