LANZAROTE, SPAIN (BNO NEWS) – The Portuguese writer, Nobel Prize laureate , novelist, journalist, and playwright Jose Saramago died on Friday in his Lanzarote residence, local news agency Publico announced.

Saramago, 87, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998 being the first Portuguese-language winner of the prestigious award. Saramago died of natural causes after a prolonged illness. He died in the company of his family. He was reportedly in a calm and serene state of mind.

The worldwide recognized author was an outspoken man who antagonized many, and moved to the Canary Islands after a public spat in 1992 with the Portuguese government, which he accused of censorship.

Saramago was born on November 16, 1922 in Azinhaga, a small town near the Portuguese capital city Lisbon. He was raised in the capital. He came from a poor family and never finished university but continued to study part-time while working as a steel worker.

His acclaimed novels include “Blindness” from 1995, “the gospel According to Jesus Christ” from 1991, “Seeing” form 2004, and “The Double” from 2003.

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