Jorge Barbosa

Jorge Vera-Cruz Barbosa (25 May 1902 – 6 January 1971) was a Cape Verdean poet and writer. He collaborated in various reviews and Portuguese and Cape Verdean journals. The publication of his poetry anthology Arquipélago (Archipelago) in 1935 marked the beginning of Cape Verdean poetry. He was, along with Baltazar Lopes da Silva and Manuel Lopes one of the three founders of the literary journal Claridade ("Clarity") in 1936, which marked the beginning of modern Cape Verdean literature.

Biography

Jorge Barbosa was born in the city of Praia, on the island of Santiago, Portuguese Cape Verde archipelago (then a territory of Portugal). Soon after, he moved to the island of São Vicente, where he spent his early years on — excluding his years of study in Lisbon. He then lived for many years on the island of Sal, working as a civil servant of the customhouse. He died in Cova da Piedade, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Publications

• Arquipélago (Archipelago) (1935)
• Ambiente (Ambient, also known as The Circle) (1941)
• Caderno de um Ilhéu (An Islander's Notebook) (1955, won the Camilo Pessanha Award)
• Recent poems include Meio Milénio, Júbilo (Jubilee) and Panfletário.

Legacy

Jorge Barbosa Municipal Library in Espargos in the island of Sal

A school titled Escola de Jorge Barbosa (Jorge Barbosa) in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente is named for him. Prior to independence of Cape Verde in July 1975, it was once called Liceu Nacional Infante D. Henrique, it had huge importance on the development of the rising nationalism of Cape Verde.

An avenue in the south of Praia (Avenida Jorge Barbosa) is named for him, it runs east-west and starts at the circle with two streets named Dr. Manuel Duarte and Mar (or Ponta Temerosa) and finishes at two streets named Boa Vista and São Nicolau, it runs in the neighborhoods of Prainha and Palmarejo.

Also a municipal library is named for him in the city of Espargos in the middle of Sal

One of his poems "Tchapeu di padja" would be made into a song by Simentera in the album Cabo Verde em serenada (2000).

Jorge Barbosa was featured on a Cape Verdean stamp in 2003^[1]

His poem Prelúdio, can be found on the CD Poesia de Cabo Verde e Sete Poemas de Sebastião da Gama by Afonso Dias^[2]

References

1. Jorge Barbosa stamp at the Universal Postal Union website
2. "Objectos do quotidiano de Cabo Verde mostram-se em Lisboa na "Casa Fernando Pessoa". A Semana. 25 June 2007.

Further reading

• Richard A. Lobban Jr and Paul Khalil Saucier, Jorge Barbosa, in Historical dictionary of the Republic of Cape Verde, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland ; Toronto ; Plymouth, UK, 2007, p. 31-32 ISBN 978-0-8108-4906-8
• dos Santos, Elsa Rodrigues, As máscaras poéticas de Jorge Barbosa e a mundividência cabo-verdiana, Caminho, Lisbon, 1989, p. 247 ISBN 972-21-0422-5
• Silva, Carlos Alberto Gomes da, "An Introduction to Capeverdean Poetry of Portuguese Expression." in Emerging Literatures, ed. Nethersole, Reingard. Bern, Peter Lang, 1990. pp. 91-105. ISBN 9783261043085.