We have received a donation of historical records from the Toronto-based poet Abílio Cipriano Marques and his editor Ilda Januário. It consists of a copy of Marques’ third self-published book Poemas e Aventuras do Loiro da Ribeira (2013), cassette tapes with recordings of him composing his poetry and reciting it to friends at cafés, and his editor’s (Ilda Januário) annotated transcripts.

Abílio Cipriano Marques was born in 1929 in Pampilhosa da Serra, a small rural town outside of Coimbra in northern mainland Portugal. His father died when Marques was a child, which prompted him to start working as farmhand early in life. As was the case with most peasant and working class people during the Estado Novo dictatorship, Marques was denied the opportunity to gave a formal education and never developed his literacy skills. When he was 14-years-old, Marques moved to Lisbon to join his mother, where she worked as a cook. There he became a dockworker for many years, until he decided to migrate to Canada. He tried multiple times unsuccessfully, starting in 1951, when he travelled to Canada as a stowaway in a commercial ship. He finally landed as an undocumented migrant in 1963 and worked in several jobs in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia, laying railway tracks, picking tobacco, working in factories and construction, along with manual labour. Eventually he found a steady job with Toronto Hydro, where he would work for 20 years. Marques became a Canadian citizen in 1972. Marques’ interest in poetry started in Lisbon, where he was exposed to its bohemian waterfront district. Being formally illiterate, he composed poetry orally, reflecting on his personal experiences and musings, which he recited to his friends. Later he self-published three poetry books with the help of his friends John Santos and Ilda Januário. He passed on Thanksgiving Day, October 9, 2016, at age 87.

The PCHP is deeply grateful to Abílio C. Marques and Ilda Januário for their donation.