 He spent most of his childhood in Carpina, in Pernambuco state, where he completed his elementary education.He started his literary activity quite early in his life, founding a short-lived magazine, "A Capital" in Recife, when he was 17.Until his 20 years he had already written a few novels, like "Os Irmãos Ravenas", "Zelsica", and "Doutores de Engenho", and the novellas "O tenente Zé Falcão" and "O Colar Sangrento".