Jamil Damous

Origin

Turiaçu, MA

Years active

1970s–2016

Genres

mpb

Biography

Jamil Miguel Damous Filho was a Brazilian poet, lyricist, journalist, and advertiser, born in Turiaçu, Maranhão, on September 7, 1953. He moved to São Luís at age ten and later to Belém do Pará at fifteen, where he began his career in poetry, MPB lyrics, journalism, and advertising. At 23, he moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he published his first poetry book, "Tempo Turiense e Outros Tempos." He also worked as an advertiser and became one of the first copywriters for Rede Globo's merchandising, pioneering "social merchandising."

Damous maintained a prolific musical partnership with Nilson Chaves and other composers from Pará, creating successful songs like "Constelação Sentimental," "Toca Tocantins," and "Da Minha Terra," which remain well-known in the Northern region of Brazil. In 2003, alongside Vital Lima, he won the Maria Clara Machado Theater Award for Best Children's Theater Soundtrack for the play "Bonequinha de Pano," based on Ziraldo's work.

His literary output includes "A Camisa no Varal" (1995) and "O Rei do Vento" (2014), a collection of previously unpublished material and selected poems from his earlier works. Jamil Damous passed away on March 18, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, due to post-operative complications. His work is characterized by themes of his homeland, time, and love, often with a regional flavor, earning him recognition as a significant voice among exiled poets from Maranhão.