O Anjo Pornográfico: A Lecture by Ruy Castro

What is known for sure about Nelson Rodrigues? The shortest, simplest answer to that is: that which can be found in Ruy Castro’s monumental biography, O Anjo Pornográfico [The Pornographic Angel]. Originally published in Brazil in 1992, and in Portugal in 2017, the book describes a tumultuous life, filled with peaks and valleys, hits and misses, loves and betrayals, sickness, death and crime. In his introduction, the biographer writes: “Nelson’s life story is more tragic and outlandish than any one of his fictions, and just as fascinating. It is almost unbelievable that all you can read here happened during a single lifetime.” Within the context of the show O Beijo no Asfalto, Ruy Castro, a journalist, writer and “Brazil’s greatest biographer”, as someone once described him, comes to the TNSJ to deliver a lecture on Nelson Rodrigues, the writer that “to some, was a saint; to others, a scoundrel; to all, a constant surprise”. The session will be presented and moderated by Pedro Mexia.