Alves Redol

1930 - 1940

In 1936, he married Maria dos Santos Mota. Alves Redol worked with newspapers identifying with the opposition to the Estado Novo: O Diabo and Sol Nascente. On November 29, 1936, in his first collaboration with O Diabo, the short story Kangondo, was published. The story had an African ambiance. He continued writing chronicles and tales identified with the social issues of his region, Ribatejo.

Redol would not become known for his work as a journalist, instead, he became known for his novels. In 1939 he published his first book, Gaibéus^[2]. According to the author, Gaibéus was not intended as a piece of art, but rather as a report of the way of life of peasants in Ribatejo.^[3] This novel started a series of works of fiction depicting the difficult lives of peasants and fishermen in Portugal in the first half of the 20th century: Gaibéus (1939), Marés (1941), Avieiros (1942) and Fanga (1943).

1940 - 1950

The publication of Fanga in 1943 coincided with the birth of his only son, António.

Redol's work is characterized by his commitment to study from real-world experiences. Redol used to get in touch with agricultural workers, such as in the rice fields near the Tagus river, to hear their stories and experiences.

At the beginning of the 1940s, he joined the Portuguese Communist Party, which was then illegal. Alves Redol was arrested in May 1944. In November 1945 he was included in the Central Committee of the Movement of Democratic Unity (Movimento de Unidade Democrática (M.U.D.)), for which he actively participated in the campaigns for the fake elections held by the Salazar regime.

In 1947, he was nominated for the position of Secretary-General of the Portuguese section of the International PEN. In 1948, he participated in the World Congress of Intellectuals for Peace, in Wrocław, Poland.

His novel Horizonte Cerrado (1948) is the first volume of a trilogy concerning the Portuguese winemaking region of Douro. Os Homens e as Sombras (1951) and Vindima de Sangue (1953) complete the so-called Port wine cycle.

1950 - 1970

Alves Redol's later works include A Barca dos Sete Lemes (1958), Uma Fenda na Muralha (1959), and finally, Barranco de Cegos (1962), considered the climax of his work.

A Barca dos Sete Lemes was translated into the English language by Linton Lomas Barrett and published as A Man with Seven Names by Knopf in 1964.

Alves Redol died in Lisbon in 1969.