Ovídio Martins

Ovídio Martins was born on September 17, 1928, in Mindelo. Rejecting the melancholic resignation of earlier island literature, Martins became the foremost poetic voice of social rebellion, co-founding the Suplemento Cultural in 1958.

His legendary poem 'Anti-evasão' ('Anti-Evasion'), with its fierce proclamation 'Gritarei / Berrarei / Matarei / Não vou para Pasárgada!' ('I will shout, I will roar, I will kill, I will not go to Pasargadae!'), became a revolutionary rallying cry rejecting forced emigrant exile. Persecuted and forced into exile in the Netherlands, he published collections like Caminhada and 100 Poemas Caboverdianos before returning to an independent homeland.