Luanda - Angolan writer José Luís Mendonça launched Friday in the Province of Luanda his book entitled “As Metamorfoses do Elefante” (The Metamorphosis of the Elephant).
The 200-page book covers the history of Angola related to the post-colonial period and current social issues, including texts of various literary genres and was published by Mayamba Editora.
The story is backed by illustrations of various animals (such as chameleons, hyenas, cows, goats, a round-winged hawk and an elephant that with different faces that represents power in a country shaped by political tension, mirroring the events of May 27, 1977), representing an analogy of a great inhuman political repression.
The writer, who touches on the historical event that marked the early years of post-independent Angola, has underlined that the book is not a re-edition of the first one launched in Portugal, but it is the same, since the Angolan public has demanded it.
José Luís Mendonça also satirizes about the the Covid-19 pandemic.
The writer has also promised his readers that his new book of poetry entitled "Esse País Chamo Corpo de Mulher" will soon be launched.
José Luís Mendonça was born in 1955, in Golungo Alto, Province of Cuanza Norte.
He is the winner of the Sagrada Esperança Award, the Floral Games of Caxinde, Angola 30 years, as well as the winner of the National Culture and Arts Prize in the Literature category.
The writer, who is also a journalist, won the 2021 SADC Journalism Award in the Press category.
"O reino das Casuarinas", "Luanda Fica Longe e Outras Estórias Austral", "Angola, Me Diz Ainda", "Um canto para Mussuemba", are some of the books that the writer has released.
In 2018 he refounded the Movement of New Intellectuals of Angola, to retrieve the legacy of the precursors of Angolan Literature. He is a former member of the Angolan Writers Association (UEA) and the Angolan Academy of Letters until 2018.
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