The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture stated in Lisbon that the Regional Government provides a "valuable contribution" to the promotion of Azorean culture with the publication of the complete literary works of Emanuel Félix.

For Avelino Meneses, the first launch of this collection at Lisbon Book Fair "demonstrates an attempt to overcome the frontiers of the archipelago in the dissemination of our writing and our writers."

Speaking at the national presentation session of the complete works of the late author Azorean, Avelino Meneses highlighted the work developed over 50 years by Emanuel Félix as columnist, essayist, teacher and art restorer, but, "above all, as a great poet. "

Emanuel Félix is, according to national critics, "surely one of the leading literary voices of the Azores in the second half of the 20th century." Outside the archipelago, he is regarded by critics as the introducer of concretism in Portugal, said Avelino Meneses.
 
In his speech, the Regional Secretary for Education and Culture stressed that he identifies with the writings of Emanuel Félix. He is considered as "the essence of the Azoreanity," that is, "a mixture of isolation, due the remoteness and geographic dispersion of the archipelago, and the centuries-old mission to bring closer peoples, cultures and civilizations."

Therefore, the memory of the poet is "worthy" of the establishment of the Emanuel Félix Programme that was recently created by the Regional Directorate for Communities. It "aims to disseminate Azorean writers among the communities of Portuguese descent, where the number of Portuguese speakers is growing thin," stressed the government official.

Avelino Meneses also pointed out the work carried out in the Azores by Emanuel Félix in the field of art restoration, considering that he was the "saviour" of several works of art on the island of Terceira at the time of the earthquake of January 1, 1980. On S. Jorge Island, he was the "curator of Manadas Church, the first Azorean monument to have a national classification.

The collection launched in Lisbon is divided into three volumes: the first comprises the complete poetry works, including original poems and a CD featuring six poems recited by Vasco Pereira da Costa, the project organiser; second includes his works in prose, essays and chronicles; the third consists of a compilation of several texts on different subjects.

In the Azores, the complete works of Emanuel Félix will be presented Friday at 6 PM at Paços da Junta Geral in Angra do Heroísmo, the headquarters of the Regional Secretariat for Education and Culture. The session will be attended by the Regional Secretary for Education and Culture, Avelino Meneses, the Regional Director for Culture, Nuno Ribeiro Lopes, Vasco Pereira da Costa, and Álamo de Oliveira, who will evoke the memory of Emanuel Félix.