Poet Joaquim Pessoa dies at 75

Poet, plastic artist and publicist Joaquim Pessoa, author of poems such as “Lisboa, Menina e Moça” and “Amélia dos Olhos doce”, died this Monday at the age of 75 as a result of a long illness, Edições Esgotadas reported.

“Editora Edições Esgotadas announces with great regret that the poet Joaquim Pessoa left this morning. Joaquim Pessoa has been ill for several months and in the last few hours his condition has worsened,” the publisher said in a statement. publish your work.

Writer José Jorge Letria confirmed to Lusa the death of Joaquim Pessoa last night, adding that the poet was hospitalized and had been battling a serious illness for a long time.

The poet and journalist, who was also close to Joaquim Pessoa, highlighted his extensive poetic activity, recalling that he was the author of lyrics set to music and interpreted by Carlos Mendez, as in the case of “Amélia dos Olhos doce”, one of the most famous, as well as Lisbon, Girl and Girl, created in collaboration with José Carlos Ari dos Santos and Fernando Tordo.

Given that the country has lost an “important poet”, José Jorge Letria recalled in this regard that an annual poetry prize named after him was established in Moita.

Joaquim Pessoa has also seen streets attributed to him in Baixa da Baneira (also in the municipality of Moita) and in Poseiran (municipality of Palmela).

Joaquim Maria Pessoa was born in Barreiro on February 22, 1948 and is known as a poet, artist, publicist and researcher of prehistoric art.

Trained in marketing and advertising, he has been creative director and general manager of several advertising agencies and author or co-creator of several television programs such as 1000 Images, Rua Sesamo and 45 Years of Advertising in Portugal. other.

Joaquim Pessoa was also director of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores from 1988 to 1994, literary director of the Litexa Editora, director of the newspaper Poetas & Trovadores, contributor to the magazines Sílex and Vértice and the newspaper a Bola.

Together with Ari dos Santos, Fernando Tordo, Carlos Méndez, Paulo de Carvalho and Luis Villas-Boas, among others, he founded the artistic cooperative Toma Lá Disco.

In collaboration with Luis Machado, he organized in 1983 the 1st meeting of poetry in the peninsula, which brought together famous names in Iberian poetry.

He has more than 600 recitals of his poems in Portugal and abroad.