José Craveirinha (born 28 May 1922, Lourenço Marques, now Maputo; died 6 February 2003, Maputo) is considered the greatest poet of Mozambique.

The child of a white Portuguese father and a Black mother of the Ronga ethnicity, Craveirinha was raised in the language and culture of Portugal. His poems, written in Portuguese, address such issues as racism and the Portuguese colonial domination of Mozambique. He was one of the African pioneers of the Négritude movement.

As a journalist, Craveirinha contributed to numerous Mozambican magazines and newspapers, including O Brado Africano, Notícias, Tribuna, Notícias da Tarde, Voz de Moçambique, Notícias da Beira, Diário de Moçambique, and Voz Africana. He also played football (soccer) and coached other athletes. He arranged an athletic scholarship in the United States for Maria de Lourdes Mutola, who won a gold medal in track and field at the Olympics in 2000.

Craveirinha also wrote under the pseudonyms Mário Vieira, José Cravo, Jesuíno Cravo, J. Cravo, J.C., and Abílio Cossa. He was imprisoned in solitary confinement by the fascist Portuguese PIDE régime from 1965 to 1969 for his membership in a cell of FRELIMO, the leading movement for the liberation of Mozambique from Portuguese rule. When FRELIMO seized power in 1974, Craveirinha was freed from prison and appointed vice-director of the national press.

Craveirinha was awarded the Prémio Camões, the world's highest honour for lusophone literature, in 1991. He was seriously considered several times for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

In 2003, Craveirinha was declared a "national hero" by President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, who praised Craveirinha's literary contribution to the fight against colonialism.

Prizes

• “Prémio Cidade de Lourenço Marques”, 1959
• “Prémio Reinaldo Ferreira”, Centro de Arte e Cultura da Beira, 1961
• “Prémio de Ensaio”, Centro de Arte e Cultura da Beira, 1961
• “Prémio Alexandre Dáskalos”, Casa dos Estudantes do Império, Lisbon, Portugal, 1962
• “Prémio Nacional de Poesia de Itália”, Italy, 1975
• “Prémio Lotus”, Associação de Escritores Afro-Asiáticos, 1983
• “Nachingwea” Medal of the government of Mozambique, 1985
• Medalha de Mérito, Secretaria de Estado da Cultura de São Paulo, Brazil, 1987
• “Prémio Camões”, Associação de Escritores Afro-Asiáticos, 1991

Books published

• Chigubo (poetry). Lisbon: Casa dos Estudantes do Império, 1964; 2d ed. Maputo: INLD, 1980.
• Cantico a un dio di Catrame (poetry, bilingual Portuguese–Italian). Translation and preface by Joyce Lussu. Milan, Italy: Lerici, 1966.
• Karingana ua karingana (poetry, “Era uma vez”). Lourenço Marques [Maputo]: Académica, 1974; 2d ed. Maputo: INLD, 1982.
• Cela 1 (poetry). Maputo: INLD, 1980.
• Izbranie (selected works, in Russian). Moscow, USSR: Molodoya Gvardiya, 1984.
• Maria (poetry). Lisbon, Portugal: ALAC (África Literatura Arte e Cultura), 1988.