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Paulo Coelho

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Paulo Coelho
Born (1947-08-24) August 24, 1947 (age 77)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
OccupationNovelist
NationalityBrazilian
GenreFiction

Paulo Coelho (IPA: [ˈpau̯lu ˈko̯eʎu]) (born August 24, 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist.

Biography

Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the son of Pedro Queima de Souza an engineer, and his wife Lygia, a homemaker. His middle-class parents did not share his dream of an artistic career. When he was 17, his father had him committed to a mental institution where he endured electroshock therapy. Later when he got involved with a theatre group and started work as a journalist, they had him recommitted.[1] He sought spiritual experiences travelling throughout Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, as well as Europe and North Africa.

Coelho later launched an alternative magazine called 2001. After joining the Alternative Society and publishing a series of comic strips about freedom, he was imprisoned and was kidnapped and tortured by paramilitaries. After this, Coelho turned away from progressive politics, working as an executive in the music industry. After a prophetic dream he met a stranger who urged him to study the benign side of magic and to walk the pilgrim's Road to Santiago.

After completing the pilgrimage in 1987, Coelho wrote The Pilgrimage, describing his experiences of the extraordinary in ordinary lives. A year later he wrote The Alchemist which was not well received. When he wrote Brida, he gained much attention in the press and both books made best seller lists.

Career

As part of the Brazilian rock scene, Coelho wrote song lyrics for many famous performers in Brazilian music, such as Elis Regina and Rita Lee. His most well known work was with Raul Seixas. Together they wrote such successes as Eu nasci há dez mil anos atrás (I was born ten thousand years ago), Gita and Al Capone, amongst 60 other songs. Seixas taught Coelho the magic of communication: a complex message doesn't need to be hard to understand - the message must be as simple as possible to grasp, even though to live it is the hardest of things. As Seixas sings: "Two hands together at the same prayer" (Coisas do coração )or "the beauty of simplicity" ( Eu quero mesmo ).

Spirituality

His fascination with the spiritual quest dates back to his hippie days, when he travelled the world learning about secret societies, oriental religions and mysticism.

As he confesses in an interview to Juan Arias, during that time he was introduced to the work of controversial English mystic Aleister Crowley, which influenced his collaboration with Raul Seixas. The influence extended not only to music, but also to plans for the creation of the "Alternative Society," which was to be an anarchist community in the state of Minas Gerais based on Crowley's premise: "'Do what thou wilt' shall be the whole of the Law." The project was considered subversive by members of the Brazilian military, which imprisoned all prospective members of the group. Coelho is reported to have been tortured during his imprisonment.

After a supernatural experience, described in later on his book The Valkyries, Coelho left the society.

Later in Holland he met a person (whom he would refer to as "J" throughout The Valkyries, The Pilgrimage and his website "Warriors of Light online") who changed his life and Coelho was driven towards Christianity. He said he became member of a Catholic group called Regnus Agnus Mundi, with J as its leader. However, the existence of the group is unverified since his own works are the only source while the Latin name is unverified. In 1986 he walked along the Road of Santiago, an ancient Spanish pilgrimage and his book The Pilgrimage describes his final initiation.

The book has been praised by different personalities ranging from Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe to the singer Madonna, who considers it one of her favourite books. It has equally inspired many projects – such as a musical in Japan, theatre plays in France, Belgium, USA, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland. It is also the theme of two symphonies (Italy and USA) and had its text illustrated by the famous French artist Moebius (author of the sceneries for the Fifth Element and Alien).

Personal life

He and his wife Christina live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

His work has been translated to 66 languages and edited in more than 150 countries.[citation needed] Paulo Coelho is, amongst other condecorations:[citation needed]

  • Member of the Board of the Shimon Peres Institute for Peace
  • UNESCO special counsellor for “Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences”
  • Board Member of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
  • Member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters

His works

In 1982 Coelho published his first book, Hell Archives[2] , which failed to make any kind of impact. In 1985 he contributed to the Practical Manual of Vampirism, although he later tried to take it off the shelves since he considered it “of bad quality”. In 1986, Paulo Coelho made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, an experience later to be documented in his book The Pilgrimage[3].

In the following year, Coelho published The Alchemist[4], which is based on Jorge Luis Borges' Tale of Two Dreamers, which in turn was based on a tale from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights. Slow initial sales convinced his first publisher to drop the novel, but it went on to become one of the best-selling Brazilian books of all time. It has sold more than 41 million copies worldwide and has been translated into some 66 languages. It is also a movie-in-progress produced by Laurence Fishburne[5], who is a fan of Coelho.

Coelho has sold over 100 million books in over 150 countries worldwide and his works have been translated into 66 languages (Goodyear, Dana (2007-05-07), "The Magus", The New Yorker, pp. 38–45 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)). He has received numerous literary awards from a variety of countries, including La Legion d'Honneur (France), Grinzane Cavour (Italy). In addition, he has written Maktub[6], which is a collection of his best columns published in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, The Manual of a Warrior of Light, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept[7], The Fifth Mountain, Veronika Decides to Die, The Devil and Miss Prym, Eleven Minutes, Like The Flowing River and The Valkyries[8]. Despite the popularity of Coelho's works in Iran, his 2005 novel The Zahir[9] was banned there, with 1,000 copies being confiscated [1], but a week later it appeared again in bookstores, according to his publisher Caravan. His latest book, The Witch of Portobello was released in 2006 – 2007.

He also adapted The Gift (Henry Drummond) and Love Letters of a Prophet (Khalil Gibran).

His books have appeared on bestseller lists in countries not only in Brazil but in the UK, the U.S., France, Germany, Iran, Canada, Italy, Israel, Finland, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia,Cuba,Poland and Lithuania. He is the all time best-selling Portuguese language author.

Coelho writes a weekly column published in more than 45 countries [2], including O Globo in Brazil, Akşam, a Turkish newspaper, and Freizeit, a weekly supplement published by the Austrian Kurier.

Acclaim and criticism

Although Coelho has achieved great international success, his work has not been unanimously appreciated at home; his election to the Brazilian Academy of Letters proved controversial.[citation needed] Seen by some Brazilian literary critics as a lesser author whose material is too simplistic and similar to that of self-help books, criticism of his work arises mostly from his plain, direct style and borrowing of ideas from other authors, to the extent of plagiarism.[citation needed] Additionally, his works in Portuguese contain grammatical errors and inaccuracies; some of these have been minimized in translation or altered in later editions.[citation needed]

Some consider his books incompatible with mainstream Catholicism, due to their mixture of mysticism, spiritual exercises, meditation and supernatural experiences. Coelho in his website states that Islam is his personal way of enlightenment and knowing God[citation needed], and claims that religion has nothing to do with his spirituality[citation needed]; he considers that all religions are "correct"[citation needed]. Despite spiritual themes, his works do not espouse any specific religion, apart from Catholic elements which figure in some plots.[citation needed]

Bibliography

Note: Although the biography section of Coelho's website states that his first book was published in 1982,[10][11] the Official Fan Club Paulo Coelho website lists two additional books published in 1974: The Manifest of Krig-há and Theater For Education.[12]

Year Portuguese Title English Title
1982 Arquivos do Inferno Hell Archives
1986 O Manual Prático do Vampirismo Practical Manual of Vampirism
1987 O Diário de um Mago The Pilgrimage
1988 O Alquimista The Alchemist
1990 Brida Brida
1991 O Dom Supremo The Gift
1992 As Valkírias The Valkyries
1994 Maktub Maktub
Na margem do rio Piedra eu sentei e chorei By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
1996 O Monte Cinco The Fifth Mountain
1997 Manual do guerreiro da luz The Manual of the Warrior of Light
1998 Veronika decide morrer Veronika Decides to Die
2000 O Demônio e a srta Prym The Devil and Miss Prym
2001 Histórias para pais, filhos e netos Fathers, Sons and Grandsons
2003 Onze Minutos Eleven Minutes
2004 O Gênio e as Rosas The Genie and the Roses
2005 O Zahir The Zahir
2006 Ser como um rio que flui Like the Flowing River
A bruxa de Portobello The Witch of Portobello

The Experimental Witch Project

In June, 2007, Paulo Coelho announced on his internet blog The Experimental Witch Project. Impressed by the efforts of his fans to interpret his works, Paulo Coelho decided to harness their talents to make the collaborative film of The Witch of Portobello, his novel released in 2006-2007.

Messenger of Peace

Marking the International Day of Peace, in September, 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon designated Paulo Coelho as one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace raising global awareness of the world body's work and ideals. Paulo Coelho seeks to promote intercultural dialogue in his position as Messenger. Through his Institute which he founded with his wife, Christina Oiticica, he helps underprivileged member of Brazil's society.

"I gladly accept this responsibility and am committed to do my best to work towards a better future for the current and next generations," said Mr. Coelho, who also serves as Special Counsellor for Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences for the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

References

  1. ^ End notes, The Witch of Portobello, Harper Collins, pp 295 ff
  2. ^ Template:Pt icon "Bibliografia". Brazilian Academy of Letters (Brazil). 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  3. ^ Template:Pt icon "Bibliografia". Brazilian Academy of Letters (Brazil). 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  4. ^ Template:Pt icon "Bibliografia". Brazilian Academy of Letters (Brazil). 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  5. ^ "Fishburne set to adapt 'Alchemist'". Variety.com. 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  6. ^ Template:Pt icon "Bibliografia". Brazilian Academy of Letters (Brazil). 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  7. ^ Template:Pt icon "Bibliografia". Brazilian Academy of Letters (Brazil). 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  8. ^ Template:Pt icon "Bibliografia". Brazilian Academy of Letters (Brazil). 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  9. ^ Template:Pt icon "Bibliografia". Brazilian Academy of Letters (Brazil). 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  10. ^ Sant Jordi Associados Literary Agency: Paulo Coelho's Titles. Retrieved on October 7, 2006.
  11. ^ PauloCoelho.com: Biography. Retrieved on October 7, 2006.
  12. ^ Official Fanclub Paulo Coelho: Books. Retrieved on October 7, 2006.

Further reading

  • Goodyear, Dana. "The Magus". The New Yorker, 7 May 2007, pp. 38-45.
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