SPECIAL
LIST 143:
SIXTEEN
WORKS OF
LUSOPHONE AFRICAN LITERATURE
AUGUST 2009
1.
ABEL [Martins das Neves], João.
Bom dia, poemas. Luanda:
privately printed for the author by the NEA in November,
1971. 8°, original illustrated wrappers (foxed, with two
small tears to front cover). Semi–abstract design on front
cover repeated on title page. Small hole on first leaf,
apparently resulting from the removal of an adhesive label.
Overall a very good copy. Author's signed and dated
("Dez/71") presentation inscription on title page. (1 blank
l., 60 pp., 1 l.). $400.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
EDITION of the author's first book. A second edition
appeared in Luanda, 1988. Born in Luanda, 1938, Abel, a
bank employee in Luanda during Portuguese rule, was
responsible for translations of works by Engels and Lenin,
as well as another book of poems, Nome de
mulher, published in
Luanda, 1973. His poems have appeared in numerous
anthologies published in various cities in Portugal and
Angola, while they have been translated into both Russian
and English, appearing in anthologies published in Moscow
under the former Soviet Union, and London. Along with Costa
Andrade, Tomás Jorge, Henrique Abrantes, "Benúdia" (Mário
Lopes Guerra), "Andiki" (Henrique Guerra), Arnaldo Santos,
Aires de Almeida Santos, and António Jacinto, he was one of
the principal contributors to two major Angolan literary
reviews published prior to independence, the second phase
of Cultura
(1957–1961),
and the Jornal de
Angola (1953–1965). He
was also a frequent contributor to newspapers.
.
.. .. .**.."A
sua poesia, escrita nos anos conturbados da luta pela
independência política, é marcada pela consciência de uma
situação sociopolítica irreconciliável e relaeva da sua
experiência vivencial de Luanda, gerando-se do seu
'saber-sentir' a natureza, a terra e o homem. A poesia de
J.A. releva, assim, de um olhar sempre crítico, sobre a
precarieade sociocultural, como naquele já emblemático
poema Bom
Dia. Numa visão
cosmorâmica da cidade, o seu olhar caleidoscópico percorre
os vários estratos sociais e profissionais da população,
representando-os nas realidades miúdas do seu queotidiano."
(Inocência Mata in Biblos,
I,
5).
.
.. .. .**..
*
Moser & Ferreira, Bibliografia
das literaturas africanas de expressão
portuguesa, p. 73 (giving
an incomplete collation); A New
Bibliography of the Lusophone Literatures of
Africa 406. WorldCat
cites only the 1988 second edition. COPAC cites only the
second edition. Catnyp, Melvyl, Hollis and Orbis also cite
only the second edition.
2.
ALMEIDA, [João Maria da Fonseca] Viana de.
Maiá póçon: contos. Lisbon: Edições
Momento, 1937. 8°, original illustrated wrappers (light
spotting and some chipping; head of spine somewhat
defective). Light browning. Uncut. Overall a good copy.
Author's signed eight-line presentation inscription to
Cristiano Lima, dated 10 May 1937, on recto of front free
endleaf [p. 1]. 169 pp., (3 ll.). $150.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
and ONLY complete EDITION. The title story only appeared in
anthologies in 1969 and 1972. The subtitle on the front
cover reads "Contos Africanos". The printed dedication, on
p. [3], reads "Á minha mãe que ficou em São Tomè Depois que
abalei, á negra de alma meiga, resignada e dolorosa, de
olhar suave como uma benção, que me amparou os primeiros
passos e me formou o carácter".
.
.. .. .**..The
journalist Viana de Almeida was born in São Tomé in 1903,
and lived in Lisbon from early childhood. Great-grandson of
the first Barão de Água-Izé, he founded and directed the
newpapers A mocidade
africana (1931),
Humanidade
(1935), and
co-edited the Africa
Magazine (Lisbon 1932).
A reporter for O
século, he also
contributed to the Diário de
Lisboa, Notícias, and
Brado
africano. According to
the Cape Verdean writer Manuel Lopes, these stories were
actually written by António Aurélio Gonçalves based on
notes furnished by Viana de Almeida.
.
.. .. .**..*
Moser & Ferreira, New
Bibliography of the Lusophone Literatures of
Africa 3105. See
also Dicionário
cronológico de autores portugueses,
IV,
161. NUC:
CtY. RLIN: FU.
OCLC: 8458641.
One of Angola's Best Modern
Writers
3. ANTÓNIO, Mário.
Mahezu: tradições angolanas. Capa e ilustrações de José
Antunes. Lisbon: Serviço
de Pubicações Ultramarinas, Procuradoria dos Estudantes
Ultramarinos, 1966. 8°, original illustrated wrappers
(slightly soiled). Title-page, section titles and
illustrations in text printed in green and black. A very
good copy. 70 pp., (3 ll.), 8 ll. color plates, other
illustrations in text. $100.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
EDITION of a collection of traditional Angolan stories,
freely retold. The author notes that he read
Chatelain's Contos
populares de Angola, Ennis'
Umbundu
Folk Tales from Angola, and other
works, and "construí as histórias que aí ficam. Nelas, o
folclore foi, sobretudo, sugestão" (p. 71).
.
.. .. .**..António
(i.e., Mário António Fernandes de Oliveira, Maquela do
Zombo, Angola, 1934–Lisbon, 1989), a poet, essayist and
story writer, was a native of Angola. He was one of a new
generation of poets who, in the 1950s, advocated socialism
and Angolan autonomy, and published in the short-lived but
important journal Mensagem.
He
also published in Távola
Redonda (Lisbon 1952),
Imbondeiro of Sá da Bandeira (1960–1966), Edições
Capricornio (1974), and the Agência Geral de Colónias
(1962–1968). Moser and Ferreira describe him as "one of the
few consciously African writers who have achieved artistic
excellence in their Portuguese writings" (p. 56).
.
.. .. .**..*
Moser & Ferreira, Bibliografia
das literaturas africanas de expressão
portuguesa pp. 56, 66, 78:
calling for only 73 pp.; cf. also 7, 17, 52, 62, 78, 100,
118, 233-43, 245, 247, 251-6, 258, 263, 265-7, 278, 300-4,
309, listing various essays by and about the author.
Moser, Essays in
Portuguese-African Literature pp. 26, 67, 76,
77, 78. See also Dicionário
cronológico de autores portugueses,
VI,
244–6; and Maria Aperecida Ribeiro in Biblos,
I,
339–40. RLIN: CU-B, FU, IEN.
4.
ANTÓNIO, Mário, ed.
Poesia angolana de Tomaz Vieira da Cruz. (Selecção e
prefácio de Mário António). Lisbon: Edição
da Casa dos Estudantes do Império, (1963). Colecção Autores
Ultramarinos, Série Literatura, Nº 11. 8°, original printed
wrappers (light foxing; text block loose). A good to very
good copy. Black on olive green oblong bookseller's ticket
of "ABC // Livraria–Papelaria // Trabalhos Gráficos //
Luanda" in upper outer corner of verso of front cover. 60
pp., (2 ll.). $100.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
and ONLY EDITION of the present anthology. The poet Thomaz
Vieira da Cruz (1900–1960), a Portuguese established in
Angola, was an important figure in the development of
Angolan literature. He placed himself in the African
setting with Quissange—Saudade
negra (1932), and the
whole of his work is devoted to African themes. The editor
has selected poems from Quissange,
Tatuagem (1941),
and Cazumbi
(1950). In 1965
the Portuguese authorities dissolved the Casa dos
Estudantes do Império, which may account for the scarcity
of the present volume.
.
.. .. .**..*
Moser & Ferreira, Bibliografia
das literaturas africanas de expressão
portuguesa pp. 62, 66, 255
(giving collation of 62 pp. and calling this number 14 in
the collection). On Vieira da Cruz see Dicionário
de autores portugueses, IV, 58–9; and
Maria Cristina Pacheco in Biblos,
I,
1409–10. On Mário António see also Dicionário
cronológico de autores portugueses,
VI,
244–6; and Maria Aperecida Ribeiro in Biblos,
I,
339–40. Porbase cites a single hard copy, in the Biblioteca
Nacional, Lisboa, and a microfilm copy at the same
institution. Not located in Catnyp, Melvyl, Hollis or
Orbis.
5.
BOBELA-MOTTA, A[lfredo Jorge de Macedo].
Não adianta chorar (contos coloniais).
Lisbon: África
Editora, 1977. Colecção Tempo Africano, 3. 8°, original
illustrated wrappers (slight wear). A good copy. [3]-116
pp., (2 ll., advt. and table of contents). Lacking first
(blank?) leaf. $40.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
EDITION of these short stories, with a lengthy introduction
by Manuel Ferreira entitled, "A coisificação colectiva do
homem negro." A second edition appeared in Luanda, 1984.
Bobela-Motta, who sometimes published under the pseudonym
Luis Vilela, was a Portuguese administrator in Angola from
1924-1940, and returned there in 1950 to engage in intense
cultural and political activity. As one of the first
directors of the Movimento Democrático de Angola, he was
the author of its relatório,
Massacres de Luanda. Twice arrested
by the secret police in Angola, he was a founding member of
the União dos Escritores de Angola. Among his other
published works are Letras
descontadas (1974),
and Só Bicheira
e outros contos (1978).
.
.. .. .**..*
Moser & Ferreira, Bibliografia
das literaturas africanas de expressão
portuguesa pp. 62, 66, 81,
98, 303: calling for 116 + 1 pp.; New
Bibliography of the Lusophone Literatures of
Africa 590. Porbase
lists two copies, both in the Biblioteca Nacional, Lisboa.
Not located in WorldCat. Not located in Hollis or
Orbis.
6.
CASTELBRANCO, Francisco.
História de Angola: desde o descobrimento até a implantação
da República (1482–1910). Luanda: Comp. e
Imp. na Tip A Luzitana, for The Author, 1932. 8°, green
cloth by Frederico d'Almeida, red leather spine label, gilt
letter. Some browning, but not brittle. Overall a good
copy. Oblong blue on white paper binder's ticket of
Frederico d'Almeida in upper outer corner of front free
endleaf. 299, (1) pp. $150.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
and ONLY EDITION of this work, privately printed in Luanda.
.
.. .. .**..*
Not in Welsh.
7.
GALVÃO, Henrique.
O poeta Lopes Vieira em Africa e o seu
relatório. (Lisbon):
Edição do Autor, 1932. 8°, original illustrated wrappers,
stapled (slight soiling and fading to wrappers). Slight
browning. Uncut and unopened. A very good copy. 30 pp., (1
l.). $100.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
and ONLY EDITION.
8.
LISBOA, Eugénio.
O segundo modernismo em Portugal. Lisbon:
Instituto de Cultura Portuguesa / M.E.I.C., Secretaria de
Estado da Investigação Científica, 1977. Biblioteca Breve,
Série Literatura, 9. Small 8°, publishers printed wrappers
(some very minor wear). A very good copy. Author's signed
and dated presentaion inscription on half title: "Para a
Ana Hatherly, // Com um abraço amigo // do // Eugénio
Lisboa // Londres, 1981". A few passages marked by pencil
in margins. 113, (1) pp., (1 l. advt.). $90.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
EDITION. Despite this saying "9ª edição" on the verso of
the title page, no earlier editions appeared. This is in
all likelihood a typographical error caused by this volume
being the 9th number in a monographic series. A second
edition appeared in 1984.
.
.. .. .**..Provenance:
On
the important poet, author of fiction, literary historian,
critic, and painter Ana [Maria] Hatherly, born in Porto in
1929, see Fernando J.B. Martinho in Machado, ed.,
Dicionário
de literatura portuguesa, p. 237; Graça
Abranches in Biblos,
II,
969–71; Dicionário
cronológico de autores portugueses,
pp.
679-81; and Pamplona (2nd ed.), III, 104.
.
.. .. .**..*
On the author, a noted essay writer and literary critic,
born Lourenço Marques, 1930, see Dicionário
cronológico de autores portugueses,
V,
746-8; also Luís de Sousa Rebelo in Biblos,
III, 102-5.
Porbase cites only two editions: this so–called ninth
edition of 1977, and a second edition of
1984.
9.
LISBOA, Eugénio.
Poesia portuguesa: do "Orpheu" ao neo–realismo.
Lisbon:
Instituto de Cultura e Língua Portuguesa / Ministério da
Educação e Ciência, 1980. Biblioteca Breve, Série
Literatura, 55. Small 8°, publishers printed wrappers (some
very minor wear). A very good copy. Author's signed and
dated presentation inscription on title page: "Para a Ana
Hatherly, // Vindando [?] um agradável // convívio londrino
e lisboeta // fraternalmente// Eugénio Lisboa // Londres,
1981". A few passages marked by pencil in margins. 129 pp.,
(3 pp. advt.). $90.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
EDITION. A second edition appeared in 1986.
.
.. .. .**..Provenance:
On
the important poet, author of fiction, literary historian,
critic, and painter Ana [Maria] Hatherly, born in Porto in
1929, see Fernando J.B. Martinho in Machado, ed.,
Dicionário
de literatura portuguesa, p. 237; Graça
Abranches in Biblos,
II,
969–71; Dicionário
cronológico de autores portugueses,
pp.
679-81; and Pamplona (2nd ed.), III, 104.
.
.. .. .**..*
On the author, a noted essay writer and literary critic,
born Lourenço Marques, 1930, see Dicionário
cronológico de autores portugueses,
V,
746-8; also Luís de Sousa Rebelo in Biblos,
III,
102-5.
10.
MOTA, Armor Pires.
Baga-baga (poemas de Guiné). Braga: Editora
Pax, 1967. Colecção Métropole e Ultramar, 38. 8°, original
illustrated wrappers, with publisher's "belt" tipped in. A
very good to fine copy. 65 pp., (1 l.). $80.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
and ONLY EDITION. Poems by a native of Oliveira do Bairo,
Bairrada (born 1939), inspired by his participation in the
war in Guiné-Bissau. The author's other works
include Guiné: sol
e sangue, 1968;
O tempo em
que se mata o mesmo em que se morre,
1974;
and Tarrafo,
diário da guerra, 1965, said to
have been removed from bookstores by the PIDE. Pires Mota
was awarded the Prémio Camilo Pessanha for the present work
in 1966. He has written for the Diário de
notícias,
Diário do
Norte,
Diário da
manhã,
Notícias de
Lourenço Marques, and
O
debate. Circa 2005 he
was editor-in-chief of the Jornal da
Bairrada, and was also
writing for the Jornal de
notícias and
O primeiro
de Janeiro.
.
.. .. .**..*
Moser & Ferreira, Bibliografia
das literaturas africanas de expressão
portuguesa pp. 173-4, 238,
239: calling for 68 pp. Not located in Hollis or
Orbis.
11.
RIBAS, Óscar [Bento].
Sunguilando: contos tradicionais angolanos.
Lisbon:
Agência-Geral do Ultramar, 1967. 4°, original illustrated
wrappers (rear wrapper slightly spotted). A very good to
fine copy. 222 pp., (2, 1 blank ll.). $30.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
EDITION. There is another edition of 1989. The title of
this book translates roughly to "Evening Pastimes". It
consists of Kimbundu tales translated into Portuguese, with
Kimbundo words and songs left in the original language
within the tales. Blind from the age of 21, Ribas, born in
Luanda (1909) was a folklorist, and a forerunner of modern
Angolan literature; his first collection of tales about
blacks was published in 1927 (Nuvens que
passam). He published
seven other books and numerous essays. Public official,
ethnographer, and director of a school for the blind, he
lived in Luanda until retiring to Portugal in 1983.
.
.. .. .**..*
Moser, Essays in
Portuguese-African Literature pp. 8, 77.
Moser & Ferreira, Bibliografia
das literaturas africanas de expressão
portuguesa pp. 7, 17, 28,
30, 37, 109, 114, 233, 234, 235, 237, 238, 239, 242, 243,
245, 247, 249, 250, 252, 253, 254, 255, 259, 264, 265, 266,
302, 304; New
Bibliography of the Lusophone Literatures of
Africa 386.
12.
SEIXAS, Artur do Cruzeiro.
Obra poética. 3 volumes. Vila
Nova da Famalicão: Quasi / Fundação Cupertino de Miranda,
Centro de Estudos do Surrealismo, 2002-2004. Isabel
Meyrelles, ed. Biblioteca Eu Falo em Chamas, 1-3. 8°,
original illustrated wrappers. As new. 240 pp., (4 ll.).;
452 pp., (6 ll.); 452 pp., (6 ll.). ISBN: 972-8632-95-9;
972-552-001-5; 989-552-072-7240. 3
volumes. $190.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
and ONLY EDITION. Volume II, subtitled Poemas de
África, is
out-of-print. We have one complete set available. Volume I
was awarded the Prémio Ruy Belo, 2002.
.
.. .. .**..*
The surrealist painter Cruzeiro Seixas (b. 1920), is known
for his "poder de imaginação e cromatismo vibrante"
(Pamplona, 2nd ed., V, 160-1).
13.
SOROMENHO, Fernando Monteiro de Castro.
Noite de angústia. (Porto):
Livraria Civilização Editora, 1939. 8°, original
illustrated wrappers (some spotting and minor
dampstaining). Moderately browned. Uncut. Overall a very
good copy. 227, (1) pp. $150.00
.
..
.. .**..FIRST
EDITION. There were at least three later editions, all by
different Lisbon publishers, from 1943 to 1965. Journalist,
ethnologist, and author of fiction, the author was born at
Chinde, Moçambique, 1910, son of a Portuguese colonial
official (he served as governor of Luanda), and a
Cabo-Verdian mother. He spent his youth in Angola, and died
at São Paulo, 1968. Castro Soromenho is considered a member
of the neo-realist school, and is usually counted among
Angolan writers of fiction.
.
.. .. .**..*
Moser & Ferreira, New
Bibliography of the Lusophone Literatures of
Africa 1371. See also
Cândido Beirante in Machado, ed., Dicionário
de literatura portuguesa, pp.
460-1. NUC:
FU,
CU, CLU, MU, NN. OCLC: 246110134.
First Negritude Poet to Write in Portuguese—A Native of
São Thomé
14. TENREIRO, Francisco José [de Vasques].
Ilha de nome santo. Coimbra:
Tipografia da Atlântida, 1942. Novo Cancioneiro, 9. 4°,
original illustrated wrappers (some spotting; slight defect
to foot of spine; a bit frayed at head of spine, small nick
at bottom edge of front wrapper). Internally very good
(some slight browning). 55, (1) pp. $600.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
EDITION of the author's first book of poetry, and his first
published work. With Ilha de
nome santo, Tenreiro
"became the first negritude poet to write in Portuguese"
(Moser & Ferreira), and he also played an important
role in promoting the work of other African poets.
Attracted at an early age to the writers and poets of the
Harlem Renaissance, Tenreiro reveled in their positive
affirmations of blackness and pan-Africanist sympathies.
In Ilha de
nome santo and in the
later poems collected in the posthumous Obra
poética (1967),
Tenreiro explored the alienation he felt as a
mestiço
in
a white, colonialist society and the foundations of his
identity as a black man and African. He later published a
study of contemporary American and African-American
writers, Panorâmica
do literatura Norte-Americana (Lisbon, 1945).
With Mário de Andrade, Tenreiro wrote the
influential Poesia
Negra de expressão portuguesa (1953) and
compiled an accompanying anthology (1958), as well as
another anthology of contemporary Angolan and Mozambican
poetry (1962).
.
.. .. .**..Tenreiro
(1921-63) was born on the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of
Guinea. After schooling at the Escola Superior Colonial, he
undertook graduate studies in geography in Lisbon, at the
Universities of London and Cambridge, and at the London
School of Economics. As a specialist in the geography of
West Africa, Tenreiro held positions in the Ministério do
Ultramar before obtaining a teaching position at the
University of Lisbon; he later was appointed professor at
the Instituto Superior de Estudos Ultramarinos. From 1958
to 1962, he served as the deputy for São Tomé in the
Assembleia Nacional. In addition to his literary
publications, Tenreiro published widely on the geography of
Portugal's Atlantic and West African colonies and on
Portuguese colonialism.
.
.. .. .**..*
Saraiva & Lopes, História da
literatura portuguesa (1976), pp.
1130-1: giving publication date as 1943. Moser &
Ferreira, Bibliografia
das literaturas africanas de expressão
portuguesa pp. 211-2,
221-2: reproducing the front wrapper. Moser,
Essays in
Portuguese-African Literature pp. 17-8, 23-4,
70-1. Margarido, Estudos
sobre literaturas das nações africanas de língua
portuguesa pp. 121-3,
527-36. Grande
enciclopédia XXXI, 261 and
XL, 680. NUC:
WU.
15.
Trovador,
colecção de modinhas, recitativos, arias, lundús, etc. Nova
edição, correcta. 5 volumes. Rio
de Janeiro: Livraria Popular de A.A. da Cruz Coutinho,
1876. 8°, original printed wrappers (some minor defects,
but overall in very good condition), in folding box, spine
of crimson morocco with raised bands in five compartments,
gilt letter, over marbled boards. Wrappers of first two
volumes printed in green ink, the last three in brown,
violet and golden yellow inks, respectively. Scattered very
light foxing and browning. Overall an uncut, fine set. 208,
160, 160, 144, 144 pp. 5
volumes. $900.00
.
..
.. .**..Second
edition (first Brazilian edition) of this collection of
poems by Brazilians and Portuguese, including
lundús,
comic popular
songs of African origin, and modinhas.
Modinhas,
originally
plantation songs, were popular in the colonial period but
in the nineteenth century found less favor than French and
Italian arias; the substantial number in this collection is
surprising, and would provide interesting material for a
study of how the modinha's
content
changed. The editor's note states that this is the second
edition, the first (Porto, 1876?) having sold out very
rapidly.
.
.. .. .**..*
Daciano p. 172: without date, place of publication or
number of volumes. Not in Innocêncio; VII, 389 is a
different work.
Legendary Rarity
16. XAVIER, [Alfredo] Caldas.
O 20 de Março ou a rebelião de Angola e a
bomba. [Mossâmedes]:
Tipografia Liberty, 1930. 8°, original printed wrappers
(slightly frayed). A very good copy. Presentation
inscription on verso of dedication leaf, signed by the
author: "Ao eminente Director // d' O
Século, Exmº Senhor
João // Pereira da Rosa, ofrece o // autor com prova de
mais alta // consideração. // Mossamedes, 5 de April de
1931 // Alfredo Caldas Xavier". 207, (1) pp. $500.00
.
.. .. .**..FIRST
and ONLY EDITION. According to oral accounts circulating in
the Lisbon book trade, this work is of legendary rarity,
due to the fact that the bulk of the edition was destroyed
by political enemies of the author. Printed in the South of
Angola, a few copies were sent to influential figures in
continental Portugal prior to the destruction of the
edition; it is these few which survive.
.
.. .. .**..Provenance:
On
the journalist and public figure João Pereira da Rosa
(Évora, 1885–Lisbon, 1962), see Grande
enciclopedia XXI,
201–2; Actualização
IX,
190–1.
.
.. .. .**..*
NUC: IEN. OCLC adds: UCLA, Indiana University, Duke. Not in
Hollis, Orbis, Library of Congress on–line catalog, Boston
University on–line catalog, BLPC or Porbase. Melvyl cites a
single copy at SRLF.