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Olavo Bilac | |
|---|---|
 Bilac, c. 1895 | |
| Born | Olavo Brás Martins dos Guimarães Bilac (1865-12-16)16 December 1865 Rio de Janeiro,Empire of Brazil |
| Died | 28 December 1918(1918-12-28) (aged 53) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Occupation | Poet,journalist,translator |
| Alma mater | Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro |
| Literary movement | Parnassianism |
| Notable works | Poesias Brazilian Flag Anthem |
| Signature | |
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Olavo Brás Martins dos Guimarães Bilac (16 December 1865 – 28 December 1918), known simply asOlavo Bilac (Portuguese pronunciation:[oˈlavubiˈlak(i)]), was a BrazilianParnassian poet, journalist and translator. AlongsideAlberto de Oliveira andRaimundo Correia, he was a member of the "Parnassian Triad". He was elected the "Prince of Brazilian Poets" in 1907 by the magazineFon-Fon. He wrote the lyrics of theBrazilian Flag Anthem.[1]
He founded and occupied the 15th chair of theBrazilian Academy of Letters from 1897 until his death in 1918.[2] He is also the patron of the military service in Brazil due to his campaigns in favor ofconscription.
Bilac was born in Rio de Janeiro to Brás Martins dos Guimarães Bilac and Delfina Belmira Gomes de Paula. As a young man, he was a brilliant student, enrolling in the school of medicine at theFederal University of Rio de Janeiro at the age of 15.
He began studying medicine, but did not finish the course. He also tried to studylaw at theFaculdade de Direito da Universidade de São Paulo but did not finish that course either. Instead, he found pleasure in writing and injournalism.
His first work was thesonnet "Sesta de Nero" ("Nero's Nap") in the newspaperGazeta de Notícias in 1884, which received praise fromArtur Azevedo.
In addition to poetry, Bilac wrote publicity texts, chronicles, schoolbooks, children's poetry and satirical works. In 1891, he was arrested at the Fortaleza da Laje in Rio de Janeiro for opposing the government ofFloriano Peixoto.
In 1897, Bilac lost control of hiscar, crashing it into a tree. He was the first person to suffer a car accident in Brazil.[citation needed]
Bilac never married and never had children. He was engaged to Amélia de Oliveira, the sister of the poetAlberto de Oliveira, but their engagement was short-lived since it was opposed by another brother of Amélia, who said Bilac had no future. He had an even shorter engagement to Maria Selika, daughter of violinist Francisco Pereira da Costa, but a legend says that Amélia was very faithful to Bilac: she never married, and, when Bilac died, she put a lock of her hair in his coffin.
Bilac died in 1918. His last words were, "Give me coffee! I'm going to write!"
Bilac also translated, into Portuguese,Wilhelm Busch'sMax and Moritz asAs Travessuras de Juca e Chico (Juca and Chico's Pranks).
Bilac was portrayed by Rui Minharro in the 1999miniseriesChiquinha Gonzaga, and gives his name to a character portrayed byCarlos Alberto Riccelli in the 2006 filmBrasília 18%, directed byNelson Pereira dos Santos.
| Preceded by Gonçalves Dias (patron) |  Brazilian Academy of Letters – Occupant of the 15th chair 1897–1918 | Succeeded by |
