João Barrento is the winner of the Camões 2023 award

João Barrento was awarded the Camões 2023 Prize, the Ministry of Culture announced yesterday. The award aims to distinguish a "writer whose work contributes to the projection and recognition of the Portuguese language".

"João Barrento was recognized by the jury as the author of a relevant and unique work in which essay and literary translation stand out. In particular, his translations of German-language literature, ranging from the Middle Ages to contemporary times, and in all literary genres, form the most consistent body of literary translations of our cultural heritage and undoubtedly constitute a means of enriching the language and disseminating the great works of world literature in Portuguese", reads the statement, which quotes the jury.

Also a chronicler and teacher, João Barrento was born on April 26, 1940 in Alter do Chão. He graduated in Germanic Philology from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon and published several books of essays, literary criticism and chronicles.

According to the General Directorate of Books, Archives and Libraries (DGLAB), the jury for the 35th edition of the award is made up of academics Abel Barros Baptista, Isabel Cristina Mateus, Cleber Ranieri Ribas de Almeida, Deonísio da Silva, Inocência Mata and Dionísio Bahule.
The Camões Prize was created by Portugal and Brazil, and aims to distinguish a "writer whose work contributes to the projection and recognition of the Portuguese language".

Last year, the winner was Brazilian Silviano Santiago, followed by Mozambican Paulina Chiziane.
The Camões Prize has an associated value of 100 thousand euros. It was awarded for the first time in 1989, with Miguel Torga being the first laureate.

Source: Lusa