Luis Eugénio de Andrade
(January 19, 1923 - living) Portugal

Poet
Andrade was born as José Fontinha into a farming family in central Portugal. In his early years he moved around the country, living in Coimbra and Lisbon, but in 1950 he settled in Oporto, with which city he is closely associated. He worked as an inspector of medico-social services.
Many of his works are love poems addressed to some "tu" (you) whose sex is not revealed. The use of this ambiguity was to a large extent a necessity, given the harsh censorship of the repressive Salazar and Caetano regimes. However, enough can be read between the lines to give his verse a special appeal to gay readers.
In his later works written after the return to democracy and the lifting of censorship, Andrade is more open. Although still reticent to some degree, some of his poems are more sensual and clearly refer to sex. At present he is living at Oporto, Portugal.
His work include:
- As mãos e os frutos (Hands and Fruits, 1948)
- Rente ao dizer (Close to Saying, 1992)
Source: Aldrich R. & Wotherspoon G., Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History, Routledge, London, 2001
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