Brazilian Poet, Environmental Activist Thiago de Mello Dies

Poet Thiago de Mello, one of the main poets in Brazil and a renowned champion of the environment and his native Amazonia, died on Friday in Manaus at the age of 95.

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Thiago de Mello, an icon of national culture, born in Barreirinha, leaves a legacy of love for art and our roots, the governor of the Amazon state said in his message of condolences. 

Thiago de Mello was born in the Amazon state in 1926. During his childhood, he lived in Manaus and moved to Rio de Janeiro after elementary school. After that, he tried to be a physician and studied at the National Medicine School, but dropped out from his major to follow the unknown and challenging path of being a writer until his first poem, Silence and Word (1951), was published.

The masterpiece The Statutes of Man, a classical poem of contemporary national literature and a hymn of hope in which he reflects on man’s relationship with nature, stands out in his vast literary production, which has been translated into more than 30 languages.

Considered one of the country’s most influential and respected writers, his name is related to some of the most renowned intellectuals from Latin America, such as Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who was a close friend.

In Argentina, Chile, Portugal and Bolivia, where he lived in exile after being persecuted by the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985), he always defended the rights of indigenous people and environmental causes in the continent.

The poet's funeral, a member of the Amazonian Academy of Letters, will take place at the Palacio Rio Negro Cultural Center, in downtown Manaus.