Hélia Correia Explained

Hélia Correia (born 1949) is a Portuguese novelist, playwright, poet and translator.

Early life

Correia was born in Lisbon in February 1949, and raised in Mafra, her mother's home town. Her father was an anti-fascist who was arrested before her birth by the Salazar regime.

At the University of Lisbon, she studied Romance Philology.^[1] During these years, she began publishing poetry in literary supplements of the time, such as the Juvenil do Diário de Lisboa under the aegis of Mário Castrim.^[2]

Career

After a period working as a high school teacher, Hélia Correia undertook postgraduate studies in Classical Theatre.

Her literary career started in earnest in the 1981 with the publication of her debut work titled O Separar das Águas. She quickly achieved great commercial success and critical renown, with critics lauding her innovative writing which remained linked to the best literary traditions. They saw influences of Camilo Castelo Branco and Emily Brontë, as well as connections to ancient Greek drama.^[2]

Several of her novels, including O Número dos Vivos (1982) and Montedemo (1983), could be considered works of magical realism. Correia accepted this saying she could not ignore the importance of South American magical realism.^[2]

Some critics have noted that her earlier works were influenced by French Feminist thought. Maria Teresa Horta has described Correia's works as "visceral" and "primordial".^[3]

From the 1990s, she began to create theatrical works. She reinterpreted ancient Greek myths from the view point of female heroines, such as Antigone in Perdition, Helen of Troy in Hatred, and Medea in Boundless.^[4]

In 2001, her most popular book, Lillias Fraser, appeared, set between 1746 and 1762 and ranging across Scotland and Portugal, covering the earthquake of Lisbon. The book won the Portuguese PEN Club prize.

Works

Fiction

1981 – O Separar das Águas
1982 – O Número dos Vivos
1983 – Montedemo
1985 – Villa Celeste
1987 – Soma
1988 – A Fenda Erótica
1991 – A Casa Eterna
1996 – Insânia
2001 – Lillias Fraser
2001 – Antartida de mil folhas
2002 – Apodera-te de mim
2008 – Contos
2014 – Vinte degraus e outros contos

Poetry

1986 – A Pequena Morte / Esse Eterno Canto
2012 – A Terceira Miséria

Theatre

1991 – Perdição, Exercício sobre Antígona
1991 – Florbela
2000 – O Rancor, Exercício sobre Helena
2005 – O Segredo de Chantel
2008 – A Ilha Encantada

For children

1988 – A Luz de Newton (seven stories about colours)

Awards and honors

2001 Portuguese PEN Club prize - for Lillias Fraser
2006 Prémio Máxima de Literatura - for Bastardia
2010 Prémio da Fundação Inês de Castro - for Adoecer
2012 Casino da Póvoa prize - for her poetry collection A Terceira Miséria
2013 Vergílio Ferreira Prize - for her entire oeuvre, awarded by the University of Évora^[5]
2013 Prémio Literário Correntes d'Escritas - for A Terceira Miséria, a tribute to Greece.^[6]
2015 Grand Prize Camilo Castelo Branco - for 20 Degraus e Outros Contos.
2015 Camões Prize^[2]

Notes and References

Web site: Hélia Correia distinguida com Prémio Vergílio Ferreira 2013 pela Universidade de Évora . Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. February 19, 2013.
Web site: Hélia Correia é a vencedora do Prémio Camões. Publico. June 17, 2015. June 18, 2015. Luís Miguel. Queirós. Kathleen. Gomes. Isabel. Coutinho. Isabel. Lucas.
Book: Owen. Hilary. Alonso. Cláudia Pazos. Antigone's Daughters?: Gender, Genealogy and the Politics of Authorship in 20th-Century Portuguese Women's Writing. February 2011. Bucknell University Press. 978-1-61148-003-0. 232.
Web site: Hélia Correia. Institute of Modern Languages Research. Fernandes. Ana Raquel. June 20, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20170311070022/http://modernlanguages.sas.ac.uk/h%C3%A9lia-correia. March 11, 2017. dead.
Web site: Hélia Correia vence Prémio Correntes d'Escritas. Costa. Maria João . February 21, 2013. June 20, 2015. Rádio Renascença.
News: Hélia Correia vence Correntes d'Escritas e presta homenagem à Grécia. Andrade. Sérgio C.. Público. February 21, 2013.