Portella, intelectual do nosso tempo (e de outros tempos)

Abstract

This essay is a study of the biobibliographic profile of the critic, professor and essayist Eduardo Portella, a leading intellectual of contemporary Brazil. It analyzes his early development and follows his path as a public intellectual (writer, publicist, cultural manager) from his years as a Law School student in Recife to his sojourn in Europe (particularly in Spain, where studied with Bousono, Zubiri, and Marias, masters of the School of Madrid) and, finally, to Rio de Janeiro, where he now lives and works as a writer and man of culture. Portella was professor of Literary Theory at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (where he is Professor Emeritus), and also held senior positions in cultural activities and institutions in Brazil and abroad, including the Ministry of Education and Culture, in Brasilia, the presidency of the National Library Foundation, in Rio de Janeiro, and the direction of Unesco, in Paris. Portella founded the Colegio do Brasil in Rio de Janeiro, and, 50 years ago, launched tempo Brasileiro, one of the country's most prestigious journals. Portella is the author of several works, including the 4-volume series Dimensoes; o intelectual e o poder; Vanguarda e cultura de massa; literatura e realidade nacional; teoria da comunicacao literaria; teoria literaria, Fundamento da investigacao literaria and homem, cidade, natureza, in addition to many significant essays. He is a member of various cultural institutions and, since 1981, of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.