Washerwomen Sons and Daughters

Brazilian Novelist

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908) was the son of a mulatto painter and an Azorean washerwoman. Born in Rio de Janeiro and educated by a priest, Machado de Assis became one of Brazil's most famous novelist. He was familiar with the works of Swift, Sterne, and Leopradi. He is started his career first as a typesetter, a proofreader, and finally a journalist. her worked laeter as an official of Brazil's Agricultural department.

Machado de Assis' writings include poetry, theater, chronicles, short stories and novel.

His trilogy Memorias Postumas de Bras Cubas (1881), Quincas Borbas (1892), and Dom Casmurro (1900) have received considered emphasis of critical studies and public interest. His novels are distinguished by psychological insight and a profound awareness of social conditions; their objective attitude stands in sharp contrast to the prevalent romantic tendency of the time.

His major realistic novels Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas (1881, tr. Epitaph of a Small Winner, 1952, The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas, 1998), Quincas Borba (1891, tr. Philosopher or Dog?, 1954, 1998), and Dom Casmurro (1900, tr. 1953, 1998) are still in publication and have been translated. His pessimistic view of life and criticism of Brazil's high bourgeoisie is impelled by irony.

Machado's poetry and fiction show an indifference to enslaved blacks and is lacking in black themes. Some suggest however that more investigation and analysis into Machado de Assis' identity as an Afro Brazilian writer would be illuminating.

Bibliography

The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, translated from the Portuguese by Gregory Rabassa Oxford University Press, 219 pp., $25.00; $12.95 (paper)

Quincas Borba by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, translated from the Portuguese by Gregory Rabassa Oxford University Press, 290 pp., $25.00; $13.95 (paper)

Dom Casmurro by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, translated from the Portuguese by John Gledson Oxford University Press, 258 pp., $25.00; $12.95 (paper)

Esau and Jacob by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, translated from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Lowe Oxford University Press, 276 pp., $35.00; $16.95 (paper)

A Master on the Periphery of Capitalism: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis by Roberto Schwarz, translated from the Portuguese and with an introduction by John Gledson Duke University Press, 194 pp., $54.95; $18.95 (paper)

Machado de Assis: Reflections on a Brazilian Master Writer edited by Richard Graham University of Texas Press, 134 pp., $25.00; $11.95 (paper)

Source: The New York Review of Books July 18, 2002. Review "Master Among the Ruins" By Michael Wood

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Actress, Dancer, Freedom Fighter

Josephine Baker (1906-1975)

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Catholic Priest and saint

St. Martin de Porres (1579-1339)

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Corporate Executive & Arts Supporter

A'Lelia McWilliams Walker (1885-1931)

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Publisher & Business Executive

John H. Johnson (b. 1918)

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Pianist and Composer of Ragtime

Eubie Blake ( 1883-1982)

Lawrence T. Carter, Eubie Blake: Keys of Memory (1979); Al Rose, Eubie Blake (1979).

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First African-American Professional Poet

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) / http://www.dayton.lib.oh.us/archives/dunbar.htm

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Baseball Pitcher

Leroy Robert ("Satchel") Paige (1906-1982)

Leroy Satchel Page, et al. M Maybe I'll Pitch Forever: A Great Baseball Player Tells the Hilarious Story Behind the Legend (1962; 1993).

Source: A Look at the Negro Leagues

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Lawyer & Social Critic

Frederick McGhee (1861-1912)

Nelson, Paul D. Frederick McGhee: A Life on the Color Line, 1861-1912. Feb. 2002. 261p. illus. index.

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Historian, Lecturer, Educator

The popular and beloved John Henrik Clarke (1915-1998) was born January 1 in Union Springs, Alabama and died July 16 in New York City. His mother, Willie Ella Mays Clark, was a washerwoman who did laundry for $3 a week. His father was a sharecropper. As a youngster Clark caddied for Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley.

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posted 22 June 2008