Alencar, José Martiniano de

Alencar, José Martiniano de 

Born May 1, 1829, in Mecejana, Ceará; died Dec. 12, 1877, in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian writer. Advocated the national individuality of Brazilian literature.

One of the founders of the “Indianist” school, Alencar made wide use of Indian folklore. With all the romantic conventionality of Indian images, his novels The Guarani (1857; Russian translation, 1966), Iracema (1865), and Ubirajara (1875) helped awaken interest in the lives of the native inhabitants of the country. He wrote historical novels and dramas (Silver Mines, 1862–65, among others) and a series of novels depicting the tenor of life in different regions of Brazil, including The Gaucho (1870) and The Sertanejo (1876).

WORKS

Obras deficçāo, vols. 1–16. Rio de Janeiro, 1951–53.

REFERENCES

Roméro, S. Historia da literatura brasileira, vols. 1–5, 5th ed. Rio de Janeiro, 1953–54.
Araripe, Tristāo de Alencar. Obra critica de Araripe Junior, vols. 1–3. [Rio de Janeiro], 1958–63.

I. A. TERTERIAN