Saramago ashes to lie under Lisbon olive tree
AFP
LISBON- The ashes of Portugal's Nobel literature prize winner Jose Saramago will be buried in a Lisbon park under an olive tree brought from his native village, his foundation said on its website Saturday.
Saramago's death on June 18 aged 87 unleashed a massive outpouring of emotion in Portugal for the prodigal son who went into self-imposed exile in Spain's Canary islands following a row over censorship.
The coffin of Portugal's Nobel literature prize winner Jose Saramago arrives at the crematorium.
Saramago, who described himself as a libertarian Communist, won the Nobel Prize in 1998 for such books as "Blindness," "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ" and "Baltasar and Blimunda."
His wife, Spanish journalist Pilar del Rio, had said his ashes would be scattered in the central village of Azinhaga and in Tias, the part of the island of Lanzarote where he spent his last 17 years.
But his foundation said they would be placed in the park opposite its headquarters under the 100-year-old olive brought from Azinhaga. A bench would enable Saramago's friends to read from his works or admire the landscape.
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