Machado de Assis was born in Morro do Livramento, Rio de Janeiro, the grandson of ex-slaves, growing up in a poor family, he barely studied in public schools and never attended university. He struggled to rise socially, supplying himself with intellectual superiority and cultural capital. To do so, he took several public positions, passing through the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Public Works, and achieving early notoriety in newspapers where he published his first poetry and chronicles.

In 1897 he founded and became the first President of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. He was multilingual, having taught himself French, English, German and Greek in later life. Given all of his achievements, I am surprised that I never stumbled upon his name when looking for more Black writers to check out. I mean ... Machado de Assis really was that bitch.

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BLACK BOOKTUBERS TO FOLLOW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOU3u_c5_qk&list=PLLAv822wjnrLzXhTR1duG6MqbMp9FuWee
BLACK AUTHORS TO READ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS4YVBzgL7A&list=PL5Hz09c5II3km_Fuku_RLZ-AAE0u6jeIN
BLACK LIVES MATTER: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co
EDUCATIONAL BOOKS (for free): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bz011IF2Pu9TUWIxVWxybGJ1Ync