Fernando Assis Pacheco

Fernando Assis Pacheco was born in Coimbra. He took a degree in Germanic Philology at the city’s university. As a student, he acted in the theatre and worked as an editor for the magazine Vértice. In 1961 he entered military service and was later mobilized and sent to Angola where he remained until 1965. He published Cuidar dos Vivos (Caring for the Living) in 1963 and, in 1972, Câu Kiên: Um Resumo (Câu Kiên: A Summary), the latter of which would be republished in its definitive version in 1976 under the title of Katalabanza, Kilolo e Volta (Katalabanza, Kilolo and Return). Assis Pacheco’s importance for 20th century Portuguese poetry can also be seen in light of the fact that he is one of the poets who best described the experience of war and, in particular, the Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974). In 1980 he published Memória do Contencioso (Memory of the Litigation) and in 1987 Variações em Sousa (Variations in Sousa), a book that describes his youth in Coimbra. In 1991 he collected his poetry in A Musa Irregular (The Irregular Muse). The volume Respiração Assistida (Assisted Breathing) was published posthumously in 2003. He also published fiction: Walt in 1978 and Trabalhos e paixões de Benito Prada (The Work and Passions of Benito Prada) in 1993. He translated Pablo Neruda and Gabriel García Márquez. He worked as a journalist on many important Portuguese newspapers and magazines, among them Diário de Lisboa, República, JL, O Jornal, and Se7e. He also worked in Portuguese television (RTP). The father of six children, Assis Pacheco died on the doorstep of a Lisbon bookstore.

You may find his poetry in…

Five Coimbra Poets brings together different poetical voices from diverse centuries, starting in late medieval Portugal with Dom Dinis and ending with Fernando Assis Pacheco in the last half of the 20th century.		Cinco poetas de Coímbra une voces poéticas profundamente distintas de siglos diferentes —de la Alta Edad Media, con Don Denís, a Fernando Assis Pacheco, en la segunda mitad del siglo XX—.		Cinq poètes de Coimbra réunit des voix poétiques profondément distinctes, issues de différents siècles, allant de Dom Dinis (le Portugal de la fin du Moyen-Âge) à Fernando Assis Pacheco (seconde moitié du XXe siècle).

Browse through his books here.

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