José Lins do Rego's early years were deeply rooted in a sugar cane farm owned by his family, a background that would have a profound impact on his work. Born on June 3rd, 1901, in Pilar, a small city in Paraíba, northeastern Brazil, he spent his formative years in Pilar, Itabaiana, João Pessoa, and Recife.
It was during his time in Recife, in 1916, that he first encountered literature, reading Raul Pompéia's "O Ateneu". He went on to graduate as a lawyer in 1918, and it was during this period that he met influential intellectuals such as Gilberto Freyre, José Americo de Almeida, Luis Delgado, Aníbal Fernandes, Osório Borba, and Olívio Montenegro.
In 1924, he married and began working as a prosecutor in Minas Gerais. Later, he relocated to Maceió, where his connections with the literary world grew, and he had the opportunity to meet notable figures such as Graciliano Ramos, Raquel de Queiroz, and Aurélio Buarque de Holanda.
José Lins do Rego's writing career began in 1932 with the publication of his first novel, "Menino de Engenho". Over the next several decades, he would go on to write more than 20 novels, each one exploring a different aspect of his childhood on the farm. Some of his notable works include "Doidinho" (1933),"Bangue" (1934),"Moleque Ricardo" (1935),"Riacho Doce" (1939),and "Fogo Morto" (1943).
