[1][2] Urbano Tavares Rodrigues was born in Lisbon on December 6, 1923, son of a family of large landowners of Moura, Alentejo.

After moving to Lisbon he joined the Camões Lyceum (Liceu Camões), where he was a fellow student of Luís Lindley Cintra and Antonio, brother of Vasco Gonçalves He graduated from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon, where he studied Romance Philology.

[2] Rodrigues was an activist in opposition to the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, which made it difficult for him to find work as a teacher.

[3] Rodrigues wrote for various magazines and newspapers, including the Bulletin des Études Portugaises, Colóquio-Letras, Jornal de Letras, Vértice and Nouvel Ovservateur.

He was director of the review Europa and theater critic for the journals O Século and Diário de Lisboa.