author
Gonçalves Crespo
1846–1883
A Brazilian-born Portuguese poet with a brief, remarkable life, he wrote polished verse shaped by Parnassian style and became part of Lisbon’s literary world. His story also stands out for the path he took from Rio de Janeiro to Portugal as a child.
1 Audiobook
Nocturnos
by Gonçalves Crespo
About the author
Born on March 11, 1846, near Rio de Janeiro, António Cândido Gonçalves Crespo was a Brazilian-born Portuguese poet. Sources consistently describe him as the son of a Portuguese father and an enslaved mother, and note that he moved to Portugal at about age ten.
He later studied at the University of Coimbra, though biographical sources say poetry became his main calling. He is closely associated with Parnassianism, and his work earned him a place in 19th-century Portuguese literary circles, especially in Lisbon.
Crespo died in Lisbon on June 11, 1883, still quite young. Even with a short life, he is remembered as a distinctive voice in Portuguese-language poetry, with a life that connects Brazil, Portugal, and the literary culture of his time.