Júlio Dantas, GCC (1876 – 25 May 1962) was a Portuguese doctor, poet, journalist, politician, diplomat and playwright.

Biography

Writing career

In 1902,[citation needed] Dantas published the one-act verse play A Ceia dos Cardeais (The Dinner of the Cardinals).[1]: 85  In 1907, his one-act play Rosas de Todo o Ano (Roses all the Year) had its premiere in Lisbon. It was later translated into English by A. F. d'Almeida Carvalho and Mrs. Edward Lewis, and its 1912 Royal Court Theatre debut was the first time a play translated from Portuguese had been performed in London.[2]

In 1931, one of his plays was adapted for the screen as A Severa: it was one of the earliest sound films in Portuguese cinema.[3] In 1947, he published the play Frei António das Chagas about a Portuguese soldier's conversion to becoming a mystic.[4]

Dantas was a friend of the politician Vitorino Guimarães, having dedicated the poem "A minha boneca" ("My Doll") to his daughter Elina Guimarães during her childhood.[5]: 256 

Political and diplomatic career

Following the Bloody Night in October 1921 and Francisco Cunha Leal's appointment as prime minister, Dantas began serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs on 16 December 1921.[6] With the collapse of António Maria da Silva's cabinet on 30 October 1923, António Ginestal Machado was made prime minister and Dantas was again appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on 15 November that year.[7] He also served as Minister of Education.[8]

During this period, the First Portuguese Republic, he served as president of the Nationalist Republican Party. He later served as a delegate to the League of Nations.[9]

Other work

In 1936, Dantas was a founding member of the Portuguese Academy of History [pt], which was created by the Estado Novo dictatorship as a way to instill a collective cultural history and memory in the country.[10]: 131–132  In 1954, he headed a government commission to celebrate the centenary of Almeida Garrett's death.[11]

Dantas served as president of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences.[12]

Personal life

Dantas died on 25 May 1962 at the age of 86.[12]

Legacy

According to Ronald Hilton, Dantas had established himself as the dominant figure of the Portuguese literary scene in the early twentieth century.[1]: 85  However, his influence on younger generations of writers began to wane as he was considered "old-fashioned".[1]: 85  In 1916, Dantas came under attack from Futurist artist and writer Almada Negreiros through his Manifesto Anti-Dantas, which employed a radical critique of contemporary Portuguese culture.[13]: 42  Ignacio Infante wrote that Dantas was seen to represent an "older reactionary condition" which was keeping the Portuguese people in an alleged state of "cultural degradation".[13]: 43 

Selected works by Dantas

Dramatic works

Theatre

  • A Ceia dos Cardeais (The Dinner of the Cardinals; 1902)
  • Rosas de Todo o Ano (Roses all the Year; premiered in 1907)
  • Frei António das Chagas (1947)

Poetry collections

Prose

References

  1. ^ a b c Hilton, Ronald (1953). "Joaquim Paço D'Arcos and Contemporary Portuguese Literature". Hispania. 36 (1). doi:10.2307/334746. ISSN 0018-2133. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ "A Portuguese Play". The Daily Telegraph. 26 March 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Opera Hit Gives Portugal Native 'Talkie' Industry". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. 6 April 1931. p. 2. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  4. ^ Moser, Gerald (1948). "Portuguese Literature in Recent Years-1945-1947". The Modern Language Journal. 32 (8): 585. doi:10.2307/319150. ISSN 0026-7902.
  5. ^ Mariano, Fátima (2018). "Portuguese Feminist Writing during the Estado Novo". In Bermudez, Silvia; Johnson, Roberta (eds.). A New History of Iberian Feminisms. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4875-1028-2.
  6. ^ "Portuguese Ministry Formed". The Observer. 18 December 1921. p. 13. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Nationalists Take Over Creating of Defunct Silva Body". The Tampa Tribune. 16 November 1923. p. 3. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 26 May 1962. p. 10. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Dr. Julio Dantas". The Montreal Star. 26 May 1962. p. 59. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  10. ^ da Silva Rêgo, António (2019). "Coalescence and conflict: historians and their personae in the Portuguese New State". In Paul, Herman (ed.). How to be a Historian: Scholarly personae in historical studies, 1800-2000. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9781526132802.
  11. ^ "The Hispanic World". Hispania. 37 (3): 352. 1954. ISSN 0018-2133. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Announcements". Science. 136 (3519): 866. 1962. ISSN 0036-8075. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b Infante, Ignacio (2023). "A Planetary Avant-Garde: Experimental Literature Networks and the Legacy of Iberian Colonialism". A Planetary Avant-Garde. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-2975-2.