Rachel de Queiroz was born in Fortaleza, Ceará, on November 17, 1910. She was the daughter of Daniel de Queiroz Lima and Clotilde Franklin de Queiroz.
In 1927, under the pseudonym Rita de Queluz, she wrote a letter to the newspaper “O Ceará,” mocking the Queen of Students contest. With the success of the letter, Rachel was invited to collaborate with the newspaper. She began organizing the literary page and published the serial “História de um Nome.” At just 20 years old, Rachel de Queiroz was making a name for herself in the country’s literary scene with her novel “O Quinze.”
The book, which was published in only a thousand copies, already displayed the characteristics that would mark her entire body of work. It had a significant impact in Rio de Janeiro, receiving praise from Mário de Andrade and Augusto Schmidt. In 1931, she met members of the Brazilian Communist Party and participated in the party’s establishment in the Northeast.
After strong political activism in the Northeast, Rachel de Queiroz moved to Rio de Janeiro. She was active in the Communist Party and in 1937 was imprisoned for three months for advocating leftist ideas. That same year, Rachel de Queiroz published “O Caminho das Pedras.”
Rachel de Queiroz wrote over two thousand chronicles, which were compiled and published in various books.
In addition to being a novelist, chronicler, and journalist, Rachel de Queiroz wrote several plays for the theater, including “A Beata Maria do Egito,” which won the theater award from the National Book Institute. She translated more than forty works into Portuguese. She was a member of the State Council of Culture of Ceará. She participated in the 21st Session of the UN General Assembly in 1966, where she served as a delegate from Brazil, working especially on the Human Rights Commission. She was a member of the Federal Council of Culture from its founding in 1967 until its dissolution in 1989. She was a full member of the Ceará Academy of Letters.
Rachel de Queiroz was the first woman to join the Brazilian Academy of Letters, taking office on November 4, 1977, occupying chair number 5. In 1992, at the age of 82, Rachel de Queiroz published “Memorial de Maria Moura.”
Rachel de Queiroz received numerous awards, including the Machado de Assis Prize, the National Literature Prize of Brasília, the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the Federal University of Ceará, the Rio Branco Medal from Itamaraty, the Luís de Camões Prize, and the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
Rachel de Queiroz passed away in Rio de Janeiro on November 4, 2003.
Source: www.ebiografia.com, by Dilva Frazão