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José Rentes de Carvalho (1930) was born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal,
and lived there until 1945, though his parents came originally from the
Trás-os-Montes region. He studied at the Alexandre Herculano high school
in Porto , and later at schools in Viana do Castelo and Vila Real. He did his
military service in Lisbon , where he also pursued university studies in Law
and Romance Languages. Forced for political reasons to flee Portugal, he
spent much of his early adult life in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, New York and
Paris, where he worked as a journalist for many newspapers, including O
Correio Paulistano , O Estado de São Paulo , and O Globo, as well as the
magazine, O Cruzeiro. |
In 1956, J. Rentes de Carvalho moved to Amsterdam, where he worked as a senior officer at the trade
department of the Brazilian embassy. He later received his master's degree from
the University of Amsterdam,
and the title of his thesis was “The Common Man in the Works of Raul Brandão.”
In 1964 he was appointed to teach Portuguese Literature at the Spanish-Portuguese department of the same
university, a position he occupied until 1988. Since that time, he has continued his career as a journalist and
novelist.
His journalistic writing has appeared in a wide range of Portuguese, Brazilian, Belgian, and Dutch newspapers
and magazines. In addition to the publications cited above, he has contributed to the Portuguese publications:
Diário Popular , Expresso , Jornal de Letras , O Primeiro de Janeiro and Letras & Letras ; the Belgian and
Dutch dailies, Le Soir, Ons Erfdeel , de Volkskrant (from 1989 to 2001), NRC-Handelsblad (from 1991 to
2000), and Algemeen Dagblad ; the weeklies, Vrij Nederland and Elsevier ; and the monthly literary
magazines, Maatstaf, Literair Paspoort, Nieuw Foundland, De Gids, Man, Intermagazine, and Atlas .
He is also a contributing editor to the Portuguese magazine, Periférica www.periferica.org
J. Rentes de Carvalho's literary output includes novels, short stories, and essays, and his work has been
included
in many literary anthologies and school textbooks in both Portugal and the Netherlands . His writings
have appeared
in: Seara Hoje, Porto Publishers, 1975; A Hora-2, Porto Publishers, 1977; Meesters der
Portugese Vertelkunst,
Meulenhoff Publishers, Amsterdam, 1970; 26 Nieuwe verhalen, De Arbeiderspers
Publishers, Amsterdam, 1984; 28 Nieuwe Verhalen , De Arbeiderspers, 1987; Hotel in Holland, Balans
Publishers, Amsterdam, 1987; Goed
gebundeld , Meulenhoff, 1988; Ik herinner mij, De Arbeiderspers, 1988;
Rusteloze reizen, Contact Publishers,
Amsterdam, 1990; Verre verlangens, Contact, 1991; Vreemde ogen,
Prometheus Publishers, Amsterdam, 1993; Reis om de wereld in 80 verhalen, Prometheus, 1995; Reis om de
wereld in 1000 bladzijden, Contact, 1996 etc.
He has also organized the publication of the collected works of Eça de Querioz in Dutch and has written the
accompanying essays to these volumes.
J. Rentes de Carvalho is included in the 9th Edition of the Grote Winkler Prins Encyclopedie , the oldest (1870)
of
the Dutch encyclopaedias.
For his contribution to Portuguese culture he was made a Commander of the Order of Prince Henry in
December
of 1991 by then President Mário Soares.
In 1992 the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia awarded him its Gold Medal of Merit.
In Portuguese, the following articles about his writing have appeared in recent years: Saraiva, António José,
preface to Montedor ; "Dossier J. Rentes de Carvalho" in Letras & Letras , Porto, Number 88, February 3,
1993; the magazine Ler , Number 38, Spring/Summer 1997; and “Eito Fora”, Number 19, September 2001.
More information on J. Rentes de Carvalho can be found at: www.ipn.pt/opsis/litera/rentes1.htm
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