Some notes on Dantas
Dantas was Júlio... Júlio Dantas!
Dantas was Everything: he was a writer, doctor, politician, diplomat... playwright, Secretary of State for Education and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
He was a Grand Officer of the Order of Saint James of the Sword.
He was everything and something else.
In literature he revealed himself a true polymath, dedicated to a great mix of literary genres, from poetry, to theatre, tales, novels, chronicles and even essays.
He reached great success through his theatrical work, with works such as 'A Severa', 'A Ceia dos Cardeais' ('The Cardinals' Supper', translated into 20 languages), 'Rosas de Todo o Ano' e 'O Reposteiro Verde'.
Futurist artist Almada Negreiros wrote 'Manifesto Anti-Dantas' ('Anti-Dantas Manifest'), a poem mocking Júlio Dantas,
making him a symbol of the more traditionalist and bourgeois older generation.
Still relevant today, 'Manifesto Anti-Dantas' reflects the Dantas that are still around in our culture and our politics.
EXCERPTS
"ENOUGH POW ENOUGH! A GENERATION WHO LETS ITSELF REPRESENT BY A DANTAS IS A GENERATION WHICH NEVER WAS! IT IS A NEST OF INDIGENTS, OF UNWORTHIES AND OF BLINDS! IT IS A BUNCH OF CHARLATANS AND OF SELL OUTS, AND CAN ONLY DELIVER ZERO! DOWN WITH THE GENERATION! DIE DANTAS, DIE! PIM!
(...)
"Dantas might know grammar, he might know syntax, he might know medicine, he might know how to cook suppers for cardinals, he might know everything except how to write, which is the only thing he does
(...)
"There is no need to dress up to be a bandid, writing like Dantas is enough!
It is enough to have no qualms, nor moral, artistic or human principles!
It is enough to go with the flow of fashion, politics and opinions!
It is enough to use that smile, it is enough to be very delicate, and to use coconut and tender eyes.
It is enough to be Judas! It is enough to be Dantas!"
(...)
Portugal, that with all these men, managed to be the most backward country in Europe and in the whole world! The wildest country of all Africas!"