Viriato Correia was born in the city of
Pirapemas, state of
Maranhão, in 1884. He was the son of Manuel Viriato Correia Baima and Raimunda Silva Baima. Still small, he went to
Sao Luis, to enter primary education at Colégio São Luís and, later, at secondary school, at Liceu Maranhense. His writing career started at 16, with poetry and short stories. Moving to
Recife, after the preparatory course, he joined the Law School, which he studied for three years. Initially, his plans were to move to Rio de Janeiro to finish college, but he joined the Carioca Bohemian life, a characteristic feature of most Brazilian intellectuals at the time. In Maranhão in 1903, Viriato published his first book, a collection called
Minaretes, which marks the beginning of his career as a writer. João Ribeiro was a fierce critic of the collection, believing that the title of Arab inspiration did not match the
sertanejo tales included there. Correia completed a law course in Rio de Janeiro in 1907, but he worked little as a lawyer. Viriato excelled in literature, journalism and political career. Through
Medeiros e Albuquerque, he got a job at
Gazeta de Notícias. He has contributed, over the years, to several newspapers, such as
Jornal do Brasil,
Correio da Manhã, as well as magazines such as
A Noite Ilustrada and
O Tico-Tico. He was also the founder of two newspapers,
Fafazinho and
A Rua. ==Political activity==