João Cabral de Melo Neto was born on January 6, 1920 in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. He was a writer, known for Morte e Vida Severina (1977), Life and Death Severina (1981) and Recife/Sevilha, João Cabral de Melo Neto (2003). He was married to Marly de Oliveira and Stella Maria Barbosa de Oliveira. He died on October 9, 1999 in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.