Álvaro Magalhães was born in 1951, in Porto. In 1982 he published his first book for the youngest, “História com muitas letras” (History with many letters), and, from then on, he has built a work with more than 70 titles, which integrates poetry, essay, dramatic texts, children’s literature and which is characterized, mainly for its originality, either for the chosen themes or for its treatment,
Five of his books were awarded by the Portuguese Writers Association and the State Secretary for Culture. The book “O Limpa-palavras e outros poemas” (The word cleaner and other poems), was considered by the International Board Book for Young Children as the best text published in 2000 and 2001 and included in the “Honor List” of the Hans Cristian Anderson Prize. The book “Hipóptimos – Uma amor de amor” (Hipóptimos – a love story), received in 2002 the Grand Prize Calouste Gulbenkian for Children’s Literature. In 2013, his book “O Senhor Pina” (Mister Pina), received the “Authors” award for the best children’s book of that year.
Part of his work (21 titles) is published in France, Spain, Brazil, Italy and South Korea.
It has 14 dramatic texts taken to the scene, since 1992 “Na Ilha do tempo”( On the island of time), by Companhia “Pé de Vento” and “Miséria” (Misery), by the Teatro de Marionetas do Porto, until the most recent, in 2016 “Um urso com poucos miolos”, (A bear with few brains), by Companhia Trigo Limpo Teatro Acert. In 2018, “O Senhor Pina” (Mister Pina), was co-produced by National Theater of Porto, S. João, and Companhia “Pé de Vento”.
In 2004, he published “Natural History of Football”, an essay that results from more than ten years of intense research and penetrates domains hitherto kept ignored, revealing to us the most intimate reality of the game, that is, its essence. Operating a synthesis of the partial views of disciplines such as history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, or sociobiology, unveils the most persistent mysteries of the game and answers, finally, so many questions that have remained unanswered. Where does football come from? What is its true origin? And your remote past? And your concrete genealogy? What, then, is its profound meaning? And why has it become a scandalous need for modern man, „this evolved but denatured animal“?
He also published the chronicle book “Jogo Perigoso” (Dangerous game), which brought together chronicles published in the newspapers “Jornal de Notícias” and “Le Monde Diplomatique”. Currently, he writes a fortnightly chronicle for the newspaper “O Jogo”.
