Biography

Miguel Oliveira holds a Ph.D. in American Studies, which he earned with distinction at the University of Lisbon. He has taught at several Universities and Colleges. From 2003 onwards, he directed the Language Lyceum in Funchal. Oliveira was appointed head of the Forum for Philosophical Studies of the Forum for Sciences, Arts and Culture in Madeira. He then worked for the John Dos Passos Studies Centre and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC). In 2005, he commissioned the bicentennial documentary exhibition on Friedrich von Schiller on Madeira Island. Furthermore, he founded the John Dos Passos’ Portuguese Literary Prize and was invited to chair its first jury. He eventually became a permanent member of the advisory board of DRAC’s Publishing Council, whose aim it was to sponsor the publication of young, promising authors. In 2007, Oliveira edited the Portuguese biography of the German Nobel Laureate Günter Grass as well as various scientific monographs on the North American writer John Dos Passos. He also translated Ödön von Hortváth’s novel Being Youth without God into Portuguese, and wrote a lyrical biography on Federico García Lorca. Later on he acted as councillor for the Austrian Bureau of the Dialogue among Civilizations, whose purpose was to bring closer together and strengthen the friendship ties between the Austrian and Portuguese peoples, through exchange projects in the areas of education, science and culture. Oliveira was awarded two honours of merit: one by the American Consulate, the other by the Regional Government of Madeira. Ever since the launching of Sem Título, Oliveira’s most renowned volume of poetry, he is considered a major figure of Madeiran present-day literature. A selection of his work was included in several anthologies of contemporary Portuguese poets. Currently Miguel Oliveira is an Associate Professor at ISG Business & Economics School. Furthermore, he teaches at the Language School at the Faculty of Letters at the University of Lisbon.