João Baptista Coelho

Poet. Real name João Baptista Coelho, he began his working life at the age of twelve as an office clerk. He completed the commercial course at nineteen and at twenty-two began attending the former Instituto Comercial de Lisboa, which he was forced to interrupt for financial reasons. In 1978, after having passed through all the stages of his professional career, he was invited to become managing partner of a metalworking company, retiring in 1984. Since then he has dedicated himself to writing as a way to pass the time. He has submitted works to various literary competitions, where he has won numerous awards. In 1997, he was awarded first and second prizes in the «Passa Poesia em Cascais» contest, organized by the Parish Council, and participated in the III Encontro Luso-Espanhol de Poetas (Faro) as an invited poet by the Ministry of Culture. He has literary work – poetry and prose – scattered across several national newspapers and magazines and in Portuguese and Brazilian anthologies.