Bichos by Miguel Torga

"Bichos," by Miguel Torga, gathers fourteen tales where humans and animals share characteristics, posing fundamental questions about society and existence itself. In this book, the human being is just another creature among others, not occupying a privileged place in creation, thus challenging notions of God, freedom, and the individual's relationship with them. This classic of Portuguese literature was first published in 1940.

Miguel Torga

Adolfo Correia da Rocha, better known by the literary pseudonym Miguel Torga, was born in São Martinho da Anta, Trás-os-Montes, on August 12, 1907. He became a doctor after returning from Brazil and, throughout his career, wrote poetry, novels, and plays. He won several literary awards, including the Camões Prize in 1989, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature multiple times. He died at the age of 87 in Coimbra.

An Author Persecuted by the Estado Novo dictatorship

Miguel Torga was a strong critic of the Estado Novo, the dictatorial political regime that governed Portugal from 1933 to 1974. Thirteen of his books were targeted by the censorship, he was imprisoned in the 1930s, and his personal life was scrutinized not only by the The International and State Defense Police (PIDE) but also by the Censorship Commission.
Despite being persecuted and labeled a communist writer, Miguel Torga continued to publish his books. Furthermore, because he was accused of being a communist writer, Miguel Torga even sent a book to Salazar, so that the dictator could verify if his writing was truly that of a communist.

Coimbra Editora's Collection at Livraria Lello

In the collection of Coimbra Editora that Livraria Lello acquired in 2020, several works by Miguel Torga were found, including first editions that prove this historical publisher's clandestine activity during the Estado Novo. "Bichos," "A Criação do Mundo," "Vindima," "Os Novos Contos da Montanha," and "Rua" are some of the books that, despite being banned by PIDE, were distributed with the publisher's stamp. These books by Miguel Torga, as well as publications by Salazar and Marcelo Caetano, and works by Vergílio Ferreira and Eugénio de Andrade, are on display in the GEMMA Room, a space dedicated by Livraria Lello to the preservation of the historical heritage of the publisher that closed its doors in the year it celebrated 100 years of existence.