He has a PhD in Ethnic and African Studies from the Federal University of Bahia.
His short story collection A oração do carrasco (The Executioner's Prayer) (2017) was a finalist for the Prêmio Jabuti de Literatura.
As a teenager, he lived in the state of Pernambuco, and later in the city of São Luís.
He started studying geography at the undergraduate course at the Federal University of Bahia, being the first recipient of the Milton Santos Scholarship, dedicated to low-income black youth.
Itamar is also a public servant at INCRA, the state agency responsible for conducting land reform in Brazil.