Olavo Bilac

Olavo Bilac (Rio de Janeiro, 1865 – Rio de Janeiro, 1918) was a Brazilian poet, journalist and translator and one of the leading figures of Parnassianism in Portuguese. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest poets to write in the language, above all for his command of rhyme and metre, which he handled so skilfully that his verses still sound spontaneous.

He began studying medicine and later law, but left both courses unfinished. From a young age his real interests lay in writing and newspapers. His first published work, the sonnet "Sesta de Nero" ("Nero's Nap"), appeared in 1884 in the Gazeta de Notícias and was praised by Artur Azevedo. He also wrote chronicles, advertising copy, schoolbooks, children's verse and satirical pieces.

Bilac was also a political campaigner who backed compulsory military service and the abolition of slavery. Under the government of Floriano Peixoto he came under pressure from the authorities: he spent a few months in prison and had to hide at a friend's house in another state. Over time he became a celebrated public speaker and one of the most popular authors in the country. In 1907 a magazine named him "Prince of Brazilian Poets". He was a founding member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and wrote the lyrics of the national flag anthem.

Stars were the theme he returned to most often in his poetry. His hundreds of poems, most of them sonnets, also deal with love, God, eroticism, Greek mythology, the bandeirantes and Brazil. His legacy endures in his role as patron of Brazil's military service, in the Academy he helped found, and in the schools named after him in São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul.