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Maria Agustina Bessa Luís

born Oct. 15, 1922, Vila Meã, Portugal

Agustina Bessa-Luís's position as a novelist and one of the most important figures of contemporary Portuguese literature was initially consecrated with the award of the Delfim Guimarães Prize (1953) and the Eça de Queirós Prize (1954), with the novel, "A Sibila" (The Sibyl).

Considered one of Portugal's most prolific writers, Agustina Bessa-Luís, was born on October 15, 1922, in Vila Meã, Amarante. She began writing at a very early age and her work spans a wide variety of different literary genres, including novels such as "A Sibila" (1954) and "Fanny Owen" (1998), biographies such as "Santo António de Lisboa" (1973) and "Sebastião José" (1981), stage plays such as "A Bela Portuguesa" (The Portuguese Beauty, 1986), youth literature with the famous "Dentes de Rato" (Mouse Teeth, 1987), essays such as "Camilo-Génio e Figura" (Camilo- Genius and Celebrity, 1994) and short stories such as "A Torre" (The Tower, 1989).

In 2004 she received Portugal's most prestigious literary award - the Camões Prize.

IN: http://www.gri.pt/english/bessa_luis.asp

Links:

A Study of Agustina Bessa Luís' Vale Abraão:http://rmmla.wsu.edu/ereview/57.2/articles/kendrick.asp

The symbolism of sweet water in Agustina Bessa Luis’s literary work “The Mother of a River”: http://www.bath.ac.uk/education/eu/river.htm#approaches

Adapted from the novel by Agustina Bessa-Luís, Abraham's Valley: http://www.filmref.com/directors/dirpages/oliveira.html