The Most Famous
WRITERS from Angola
This page contains a list of the greatest Angolan Writers. The pantheon dataset contains 7,302 Writers, 3 of which were born in Angola. This makes Angola the birth place of the 104th most number of Writers behind Kosovo, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Top 3
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Angolan Writers of all time. This list of famous Angolan Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Mário Pinto de Andrade (1928 - 1990)
With an HPI of 57.70, Mário Pinto de Andrade is the most famous Angolan Writer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.
Mário Coelho Pinto de Andrade (21 August 1928 – 26 August 1990) was an Angolan poet and politician.
2. Pepetela (b. 1941)
With an HPI of 57.61, Pepetela is the 2nd most famous Angolan Writer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos (born 1941) is a major Angolan writer of fiction. He writes under the name Pepetela. A Portuguese Angolan, Pepetela was born in Benguela, Portuguese Angola, and fought as a member of the MPLA in the long guerrilla war for Angola's independence. Much of his writing deals with Angola's political history in the 20th century. Mayombe , for example, is a novel that portrays the lives of a group of MPLA guerrillas who are involved in the anti-colonial struggle in Cabinda, Yaka follows the lives of members of a white settler family in the coastal town of Benguela, and A Geração da Utopia reveals the disillusionment of young Angolans during the post-independence period. Pepetela has also written about Angola's earlier history in A Gloriosa Família and Lueji, and has expanded into satire with his series of Jaime Bunda novels. His most recent works include Predadores, a scathing critique of Angola's ruling classes, O Quase Fim do Mundo, a post-apocalyptic allegory, and O Planalto e a Estepe, a look at Angola's history and connections with other former communist nations. Pepetela won the Camões Prize, the world's highest honour for Lusophone literature, in 1997. "Pepetela" is a Kimbundu word that means "eyelash," which is a translation of his Portuguese surname, "Pestana". The author received this nom de guerre during his time as an MPLA combatant.
3. José Eduardo Agualusa (b. 1960)
With an HPI of 56.18, José Eduardo Agualusa is the 3rd most famous Angolan Writer. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.
José Eduardo Agualusa Alves da Cunha (born December 13, 1960) is an Angolan writer and columnist of Portuguese and Brazilian descent. He studied agronomy and silviculture in Lisbon, Portugal. Currently he resides in the Island of Mozambique, working as a writer and journalist. He also has been working to establish a public library on the island.
People
Pantheon has 3 people classified as Angolan writers born between 1928 and 1960. Of these 3, 2 (66.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Angolan writers include Pepetela, and José Eduardo Agualusa. The most famous deceased Angolan writers include Mário Pinto de Andrade. As of April 2024, 3 new Angolan writers have been added to Pantheon including Mário Pinto de Andrade, Pepetela, and José Eduardo Agualusa.
Living Angolan Writers
Go to all RankingsDeceased Angolan Writers
Go to all RankingsNewly Added Angolan Writers (2024)
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Mário Pinto de Andrade
1928 - 1990
HPI: 57.70
Pepetela
1941 - Present
HPI: 57.61
José Eduardo Agualusa
1960 - Present
HPI: 56.18
