De Moraes, Vinicius 1913-1980
(Marcus Vinicius Cruz de Mello Moraes)

PERSONAL:

Born October 19, 1913, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; died July 9, 1980, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; son of Clodoaldo Pereira da Silva Moraes and Lydia Cruz de Moraes; married Beatriz Azevedo de Mello, 1939 (marriage ended); married Maria Esquerdo e Bôscoli, 1951 (marriage ended); married Maria Lúcia Proença, 1958 (marriage ended); married Nelita Abreu Rocha, 1963; children: three daughters, one son. Education: College of St. Ignatius, graduated, 1929; Academy of Juridical and Social Studies, law degree, 1933; also studied English at Magdalen College, Oxford, 1938.

CAREER:

Poet, song writer, civil servant, and author. Ministry of Education, Brazil, staff member for Board of Film Censors, c. 1936-38; British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), worked for Brazilian section, c. 1938-39; A Manhã (newspaper), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, film critic, beginning 1941; diplomatic service for Brazilian government, 1943-69, including as vice-consul in Los Angeles, CA, 1946, and second secretary for Brazilian Embassy in Paris, France, 1953, and Montevideo, Uruguay, beginning 1957; editor for journals Suplemento Literário and O Jornal, beginning 1946; cofounder, Review (magazine), 1946; Última Hora, film critic, beginning c. 1950. Also worked as coproducer of a documentary film Procura-se uma rosa, 1961, and producer of Garota de Ipanêma, 1967. Author of songs for motion pictures, including Orfeu Negro, 1959, Marilia e Marina, 1976, Carioca tigre, 1976, Cascabel, 1977, Professor Kranz tedesco di Germania, 1978, Iracema, a Virgem dos Lábios de Mel, 1979, Para viver um grande amor, 1984, The Cable Guy, 1996, Ice Storm, 1997, Man of the Century, 1999, Duplex, 2003, Coisa Mais Linda, 2005, Vinicius, 2005, and Un homme et une femme; song writer for television series Bem-Amado, O, 1973, and Fogo sobre terra, 1974. Appeared as an actor in films, including Pluft, o Fantasminha, 1965, and Garota de Ipanêma, 1967.

AWARDS, HONORS:

First prize, Festival of Popular Music (São Paulo, Brazil), 1965, for lyrics; Grammy Award for song of the year, 1964, "The Girl from Ipanêma"; prize for Orfeu da Conceição.

WRITINGS:

O caminho para a distância (poems), Schmidt (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1933.

As coisas do alto: poemas de formação, 1933, reprinted, Companhia das Letras (São Paulo, Brazil), 1993.

Forma e exegese (poems), Pongetti (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1935.

Elegía al primer amigo (poems), [Brazil], 1935.

Novos poemas, J. Olympio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1938.

Cinco elegias, 1938, reprinted, Pongetti (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1943.

Para uma menina com uma flor (fiction), 1941, reprinted, J. Olympio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1976.

(Translator) Emil Ludwig, Beethoven, Nacional (São Paulo, Brazil), 1945.

Poemas, sonetos e baladas, Edições Gaveta (São Paulo, Brazil), 1946.

Antología poética, Editôra A Noite (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1949.

Orfeu da conceição (play), Editôra Dois Amigo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1956, translated as Black Orpheus.

Livro de sonetos (poems), Livros de Portugal (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1957, reprinted, Companhia das Letras (São Paulo, Brazil), 2000.

Novos poemas (II) (1949-1956), São José (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1959.

Para viver um grande amor (poems), Editôra do Autor (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1962.

As feras: tragédia em três atos (three-act play), Serviço Nacional de Teatro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1968.

O mergulhador: poemas, Editora do Atelier de Arte (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1968.

Obra poética, edited by Afrânio Coutinho, José Aguillar (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1968.

O poeta apresenta o poeta: antologia seleccionada e prefaciada, selected by Alexandre O'Neill, Publicações dom Quixote (Lisbon, Portugal), 1969.

A arca de Noé poemas infantis de Vinicius de Moraes (poems for children), illustrated by Marie Louise Nery, 1970, reprinted, J. Olympio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1974.

O operário em construção e outros poemas (poems), selected and with preface by Alexandre O'Neill, Dom Quixote (Lisbon, Portugal), 1970.

História natural de Pablo Neruda: a elegia que vem de longe, illustrated by Calasans Neto, Edições Macunaíma (Salvador, Brazil), 1974.

Rio de Janeiro (travel), photographs by Bernard Hermann, Éditions du Pacifique (Papeete, Tahiti), 1976, translated as The Joy of Rio, Vendome Press (New York, NY), 1980.

Poesia completa e prosa, 1976, reprinted, Editora Nova Aguilar (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1981.

O brevo momento: sonetos de Vinicius de Moraes: desenhos de Carlos Leão (poems), Lithos Edições de Arte (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1977.

O falso mendigo: poemas de Vinicius de Moraes, Fontana (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1978.

Vinicius de Moraes (poems), Abril Educação (São Paulo, Brazil), 1980.

A mulher e o signo (poems), Rocco (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1980.

Conheça os escritor brasileiro Vinicius de Moraes, selected by Lygia Marina Moraes, Editora Record (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1981.

Poemas de muito amor, J. Olympio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1982.

The Girl from Ipanêma (poems), translated by Gregory Rabassa, compiled by Roy Cravzow, Cross-Cultural Communications (Merrick, NY), 1982.

(With Edmundo Font and Julio Cesar Monteiro Martins) Indistinta (poems), Editora Anima (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1984.

Os melhores poemas de Vinicius de Moraes, selected by Renata Pallottini, Global Editora (São Paulo, Brazil), 1984.

O Cinema de meus olhos, organized and with notes by Carlos Augusto Calil, Cinemateca Brasileira (São Paulo, Brazil), 1991.

(With José Castello) Livro de letras, Companhia das Letras (São Paulo, Brazil), 1991.

Roteiro lírico e sentimental da cidade do Rio de Janeiro e outros lugares por onde passou e se encantou o poeta, photographs by Márcia Ramalho, additional text by José Castello, Companhia das Letras (São Paulo, Brazil), 1992.

Jardim noturno: poemas inéditos, selected by Ana Miranda, Companhia das Letras (São Paulo, Brazil), 1993.

Teatro em versos (contains plays Cordélia e o Perigrino, Orfeu da conceição, Procura-se uma rosa, As feras, and Pobre menina rica), selected and introduced by Carlos Augusto Calil, Companhia das Letras (São Paulo, Brazil), 1995.

Soneto de fidelidade e outros poemas, selected by Maura Sardinha, 1996, reprinted, Ediouro Publicações (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1997.

Author of numerous popular songs, including "The Girl from Ipanêma," 1962. Poems in English translation have appeared in several anthologies, including Modern Brazilian Poetry, edited by J. Nist, 1962; Latin American Writing Today, edited by J.M. Cohen, 1967; An Anthology of Brazilian Modernist Poetry, edited by G. Pontiero, 1969; The Penguin Book of Latin American Verse, edited by E. Caracciolo-Trejo, 1971; and An Anthology of Twentieth Century Brazilian Poetry, edited by E. Bishop and E. Brasil, 1972. De Moreas's works have been translated into other languages, including Spanish and French.

ADAPTATIONS:

Orfeu negro was adapted as the Black Orpheus, 1958, for which the author was a lyricist for two songs; Para viver um grande amor was adapted to film, with songs by the author, 1984.

SIDELIGHTS:

The popular Brazilian poet, dramatist, and song writer Vinicius de Moraes was best known for writing the Grammy Award-winning song "The Girl from Ipanêma" and his play Orfeu da Conceição, which was adapted as the 1958 film Orfeu Negro ("Black Orpheus"). Interested in music from a young age, he went on to receive a law degree in 1933 and have a long career in the Brazilian government's Ministry of Education and then the diplomatic service. Meanwhile, he began publishing poetry collections in the 1930s and building a sideline career as a respected film critic for various Brazilian newspapers.

Venturing into filmmaking himself, de Moraes worked as an occasional producer and even actor; most notably, he produced the film Garota de Ipanêma in 1967, which features his famous song, "The Girl from Ipanêma." De Moraes was also an accomplished playwright. His most famous stage work is Orfeu da Conceição, a verse drama that was widely praised. The movie version, Orfeu Negro, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. De Moraes was also acclaimed for his role in establishing a new form of popular music, the bossa nova. His part was in writing lyrics to music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and the singing performance by Elizete Cardoso for the record Canção do Amor Demais. The dance style that went along with the music swept Latin America and even found fans in the United States and other nations.

When the Brazilian government was overthrown in a military coup in 1964, de Moraes came under scrutiny for his criticisms of the new regime and was removed from his government post in 1969. However, he was such a beloved writer in Brazil that he was able to remain in the public limelight, where he often continued to poke fun at political corruption and incompetence.

OBITUARIES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, July 11, 1980.