Saramago, José

(1922- )

   Recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature, Saramago, a noted novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer, is the first writer in the Portuguese language, of whatever nationality, to be so honored. Saramago began his career as a journalist, editor, and translator, and then became a full-time novelist. Born in the village of Azinhaga, Ribatejo province, Saramago worked as a journalist and directed the literary supplement of the Diário de Lisboa, a daily paper in the capital, as well as being an editor with the Diário de Notícias. Among his other writings from earlier decades is his work as a literary critic for the liberal, progressive journal Seara Nova. His reputation as a writer rests chiefly on the value of his novels, most of them translated now into more than 20 foreign languages and published widely outside Portugal, but he is also a versatile poet, playwright, travel writer, and political commentator. His membership in the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and later his moving from residence in Portugal to the Canary Islands with his Spanish wife elicited ongoing discussions. Among his more famous novels that have been rendered into the English language and widely praised are Baltazar and Blimunda (1987), The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (1991), and The History of the Siege of Lisbon (1996).