Amélia Janny

Amélia Janny (25 February 1842 – 19 March 1914) was a Portuguese Parnassian poet, playwright and lyricist who was highly regarded by, among others, the Portuguese writers and poets, Teixeira de Pascoaes and António Feliciano de Castilho.

Early life Janny was born on 25 February 1841. She was the illegitimate daughter of Maria Herculana da Silva e Veiga, a schoolgirl, and of the jurist, politician and academic, António Correia Caldeira (1815–1876), who was a nephew and heir of the Portuguese cardinal, Francisco de São Luís. Janny's father was, at the time of her birth, a student at the University of Coimbra and she was born in Coimbra. Her mother later married the doctor, Raimundo Francisco da Gama, who became her stepfather. Janny would later dedicate poems to him and write one about him, called "The Doctor". Subsequent achievements From the 1860s onwards, Janny became a central figure in the academic and cultural life of Coimbra, as a poet, an author of plays and fado lyrics (accompanying singers on the piano), and as a lecturer to organizations such as the Coimbra Institute and the Association of Artists of Coimbra. She published her first poems at the age of 16 and these were later republished in the local newspaper, Cysne do Mondego. She excelled in poetry reading, and came to enjoy considerable social prestige. A notable reading was during the Camões Centenary celebrations, in 1880, when she recited poetry at the former Teatro Académico de Coimbra, presenting her work entitled Pátria. A Mulher (1879), Ribaltas e Gambiarras (1881), and A Semana de Lisboa (1893–1895) as well as in the weekly Azulejos (1907–1909). She was awarded prizes in several literary competitions and was awarded the necklace of the Institute of Coimbra. She was a member of several academies and associations, including some in Brazil. In 2003, Coimbra City Council published her complete works in a collection entitled Amélia Janny: Miscelânea Poética. Death Janny died in Coimbra on 19 March 1914. Coimbra subsequently named a road after her. A street also bears her name in the Seixal municipality.