Francisco da Cunha Leão

Essayist, journalist, and poet. He graduated in Historical-Philosophical Sciences from the Faculty of Letters of Lisbon. A contributor to magazines and newspapers, he was the director of the Diário Popular (from 1953 to 1958), founded the magazine Permanência, and joined the movement known as "Filosofia Portuguesa." Married to one of the heiresses of a Lisbon publishing bookshop, he left a mark on Portuguese publishing history with the launch of the "Colecção de Poesia e Verdade," where he introduced works by Alexandre O' Neill, David Mourão-Ferreira, Herberto Helder, Mário Cesariny, Tomaz Kim, and Maria Teresa Horta; he also launched the "Colecção de Filosofia e Ensaios," which featured works by Álvaro Ribeiro, Fidelino de Figueiredo, and Sampaio Bruno, as well as translations of Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Heidegger. In collaboration with Alexandre O' Neill, he published the Antologia Poética de Gomes Leal and the Antologia Poética de Pascoaes; with David Mourão-Ferreira, he published an Antologia Poética de Cecília Meireles; and with Amândio César, the Antologia Poética de António Sardinha. He wrote prefaces for the Ensaio sobre a Cultura Galega by Ramón Otero Pedrayo and Reflexão: À Margem da Literatura Portuguesa by Agostinho da Silva. He served as the General Agent of the Overseas Territories between 1967 and 1973.