Portuguese writer José Saramago dies at 87

June 18, 2010

Portuguese writer, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, died today at his home in at 87.

As Saramago Foundation reported, "today, June 18, José Saramago has died at 12:30 at his home in Lanzarote, at 87 years old, as the aftermath of a multiorgan failure, after a prolonged illness." They added that "the writer died with his family, passing out quietly and peacefully."

Saramago was born in November 16, 1922 in the village of. He was a journalist, writer, designer, editor and translator. He published his first work, Terra do Pecado, in 1947. Some of his most important works are ', ' and .

His body will be cremated on Sunday in.