World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Joaquim Lúcio Cardoso Filho (Lúcio Cardoso)

ジョアキム ルーシオ カルドーソ フィーリョ（ルーシオ カルドーソ）

Joaquim Lúcio Cardoso Filho (Lucio Cardoso)

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1912-08-14 （Curvelo, Minas Gerais, Brazil）
Died
1968-09-22 （Rio de Janeiro, Brazil） age 56
Nationality
Brazil
Languages
Portuguese
Religion
Catholicism
Residence History
Curvelo, Minas Gerais → Belo Horizonte (education) → Rio de Janeiro (principal residence and literary milieu) → Ipanema (bohemian circles)

Career

Occupations
novelist, playwright, poet, screenwriter, painter
Active Years
1934-1968
Influenced By
William Faulkner (stylistic influence), Otávio de Faria, Augusto Frederico Schmidt
Influenced
Brazilian modern and contemporary writers (influence on subjective interiority), Filmmakers and Cinema Novo collaborators

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Maleita (Malaria)

1934 Novel (regionalism)

The story of an engineer stranded in a remote area of Minas Gerais. An early regionalist work.

regionalismisolation

A luz no subsolo

1936 Novel (psychological fiction)

Marks a shift from regionalism toward psychological introspection, emphasizing the protagonist's inner world.

psychologyinteriority

Chronicle of the Murdered House

1959 Novel (family saga, Faulknerian elements)

A Faulknerian saga of a decaying patriarchal family in Minas Gerais. Explores family collapse, interiority, and sexual identity through characters such as Timóteo, a gay scion who symbolizes the unraveling of tradition.

family decaygender and sexual minoritiesmemory and decline
Adaptations
  • [translation (book)] Chronicle of the Murdered House (2016)
Translations
  • English translation: Chronicle of the Murdered House (translators Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson; Open Letter, 2016)

Diário I

1961 diary

A diary containing the author's introspections, revealing details of his creative life, personal affairs, and struggles with illness.

self-reflectioncreative process

O viajante (unfinished)

1973 novel (unfinished)

An unfinished novel published posthumously; contains fragmentary material from the work-in-progress.

journeyunfinished narrative

Bibliography

  • Maleita (1934)
  • Salgueiro (1935)
  • A luz no subsolo (1936)
  • Mãos vazias (1938)
  • Histórias da Lagoa Grande (1939)
  • O desconhecido (1940)
  • Céu escuro (1940)
  • Poesias (1941)
  • Novas poesias (1944)
  • O escravo (play, 1944)
  • A professora Hilda (1946)
  • O enfeitiçado (1954)
  • Crônica da casa assassinada (1959)
  • Diário I (1961)
  • O mistério dos MMM (1962, collaboration)
  • Diário completo (1970, posthumous)
  • Três histórias da província (1969)
  • Três histórias da cidade (1969)
  • O viajante (unfinished, 1973)
  • Poemas inéditos (1982, posthumous)

Adaptations

  • Porto das caixas (film; co-created with Paulo César Saraceni)

Translations of Works

  • Crônica da casa assassinada — English translation: Chronicle of the Murdered House (translators Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson; Open Letter, 2016)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
introspective, psychological prosesymbolic and sometimes experimental techniquesFaulknerian family-saga narration
Recurring Motifs
decaying familiesmemory and shadows of the pastredemption and salvationdepictions of sexual minorities

Health

  • alcoholism
    生涯中期以降
    Deteriorated health; negatively affected creative work and personal life.
  • dependence on prescription drugs
    生涯中期
    Affected overall health and daily functioning.
  • strokes (1962, 1968)
    1962年〜1968年
    A 1962 stroke left him partially paralyzed and impaired his speech and writing; a subsequent stroke in 1968 led to his death.

Legacy

Lúcio Cardoso is a significant figure in Brazilian literature for his psychological interiority and family sagas. His exploration of sex, redemption, and decline secured his place among influential writers; his involvement in film and black theatre also marked his cultural impact. Late-life health issues curtailed his output.

In Popular Culture

  • Sometimes spoken of as an emblematic figure of Ipanema's bohemian culture in Rio.

Trivia

  • Clarice Lispector fell in love with Cardoso when young and remained a lifelong friend.
  • He helped found the Teatro Experimental do Negro with Abdias do Nascimento, an early black theatre company in Brazil.
  • Collaborated with Paulo César Saraceni on film work associated with the early Cinema Novo movement.
  • After a 1962 stroke he was partially paralyzed and, unable to write as before, turned to painting.