The AEMO has announced that the jury, led by writer and essayist Sara Jonas, has awarded Juvenal Bucuane, recognizing him as an author who makes “a significant contribution to the appreciation of collective memory and the distinguished cultivation of memorialism in Mozambican literature.” The statement highlights that his work is “studied and discussed in academic and literary circles.”
The jury further explains that the prize is given to Juvenal Bucuane, an essayist and fiction writer, for being “an emblematic figure of Mozambican literature, with well-established public recognition.”
The José Craveirinha Literature Prize, valued at $25,000 (21,700 euros), was established in 2003 in honor of the poet, first president, and co-founder (1922-2003) of AEMO in 1981. Until 2007, the prize was awarded for the best book of the year, and since 2009, it has recognized the career of a Mozambican writer, poet, or essayist whose work enriches the literary art and culture of Mozambique.
The award ceremony for the José Craveirinha Literature Prize is scheduled for June 23, according to the AEMO statement.
Juvenal Bucuane was born in the Gaza province, southern Mozambique, on October 23, 1951. A member of AEMO who has served as secretary-general and vice-president of the General Assembly, he holds degrees in Linguistics and Law from Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM).
His published works include ‘A Raiz e o Canto’ (1984), ‘Requiem: com os olhos secos’ (1987), ‘Xefina’ (1989), ‘A Denúncia’ (2003), ‘Epicentro’ (2005), ‘Sal da Terra: Histórias do nosso chão’ (2005), ‘Crendice ou Crença — Quando os manes ancestrais se tornam deuses’ (2012), ‘Geração Charrua: Uma juventude literata ao ritmo do seu tempo 1963-1986’ (2022), ‘Masingita — ou a subtileza do incesto’ (2022), among others.
He is the co-founder of the now-defunct literary magazine ‘Charrua’ and was the coordinator of the ‘Ler e Escrever’ page of the Mozambican newspaper Domingo in the 1990s.
