Félix, Moacyr 1926–2005

PERSONAL: Born March 11, 1926, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; died October 25, 2005; married Birgitta Lagerblad, 1953 (died, 2003). Education: Attended Universidade Católica do Rio; attended the Sorbonne, 1950–53, and College de France, 1953.

CAREER: Company Auxiliary of Electric Companies, lawyer in legal department, 1946–49; member of Brazilian Institute of Economy, Sociology, and Politics, 1954–55; editor and broadcaster for weekly television program on literature in Brazil, 1955–56; Para Todos (periodical), writer and editor of poetry section, 1956–58; freelance writer, 1955–60; Jornal de Letras, editor in chief, 1955–62; Brazilian Civilization (publishing company), managing editor of Poesia Hoje, 1963–71, and Perpectivas do Homem, 1966–92; Encontros com a Civilização (magazine), publisher, 1978–82; editorial manager for Rio-Arte Foundation, Municipal Institute Rio-Arte, 1987–88.

MEMBER: Comando de Trabalhadores Intelectuals (cofounder).

WRITINGS:

Singular plural: história e poesia em Moacyr Félix, 1944, 2nd edition, Editora Record (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1998.

Canção do exílio aqui, Civilização Brasileira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1977.

Neste lençol, Civilização Brasileira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1977, 2nd edition, 1992.

Invenção de crença e descrença, Civilização Brasileira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1978.

Em nome da vida, Civilização Brasileira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1981.

Antologia poética, República Federativa do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1993.

Introdução a escombros, Ministry of Culture (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1998.

(Compiler, with Adriano Espínola) 41 poetas do Rio, Ministry of Culture (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1998.

(Compiler and selector) Enio Silveira, Enio Silvaira: arquiteto de liberdades, Bertrand Brasil (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1998.

O pensar e o sentir na obra de Moacyr Félix, Ministry of Culture (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 2001.

Author of additional poetry collections and other books. Managing editor of series Violão de Rua, 1962–63; managing editor of magazine Revista da Civilização, 1966–72, and Alguma Poesia, 1983–85; director of Paz e Terra, beginning 1969; editorial advisory board member, Novos Rumos, 1990–91. Contributor to periodicals, including Teologia da Libertação.

SIDELIGHTS: Moacyr Félix was a Brazilian poet who, as an editor of numerous journals and magazines over the years, was also an influential voice within his country's literary circles. As an outspoken champion of the poor, he was known in Brazil for his criticism of the rich and powerful and for championing a socialist system of government. His poetry had not been translated into English at the time of his death in 2005, but some reviews of his Portuguese verses were written in such periodicals as World Literature Today. In one issue, Wilson Martins reviewed Canção do exílio aqui, pondering its apparent contradictions. According to Martins, Félix "seems intellectually leftist but finds himself 'exiled' in a number of leftist positions." Yet the poet also rejects the ideology of the right. Thus, while Martins found some of the poems "beautiful and melancholy," he complained that the poet's attempts at political messages strike a discordant chord. Gerald M. Moser, reviewing Neste lençol in another World Literature Today issue, noted the themes of this collection, which predominantly contains poems about physical sex tinged with feelings of despair and sadness. The critic asserted that Félix was capable of writing in "a powerful poetic vein."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

World Literature Today, summer, 1978, Wilson Martins, review of Canção do exílio aqui, p. 449; autumn, 1978, Gerald M. Moser, review of Neste lençol, p. 612.