LINS, OSMAN

born July 5, 1924, Vitria de Santo Anto, Braz. died July 8, 1978, So Paulo novelist and short-story writer, one of the leading innovators of mid-20th century Brazilian fiction. After publishing two novels and a volume of short storiesO Visitante (1955; The Visitor), O Fiel e a Pedra (1961; The Plumbline and the Rock), and Os Gestos (1957; Gestures)written in a fairly traditional style, Lins broke with linear narration to create the three works that secured his reputation: Nove, Novena (1966; Nine, a Novena), consisting of nine narratives; Avalovara (1973; Eng. trans. 1980), a novel; and A Rainha dos Crceres da Grcia (1976; The Queen of the Grecian Jails), a novel/essay. These works subject the fictional narrative to an order imposed by external elements of literary architecture, some of which derive from Concretist theory. Several narratives of Nove, Novena parallel signs of the zodiac and geometric ideograms. A Rainha dos Crceres da Grcia integrates short essays on literary theory and criticism within a fictional narrative. Lins also wrote several plays. Lins was a bank clerk in So Paulo from 1943 to 1970 and taught literature from 1970 to 1976.