Sérgio (Augusto Soares) Mattos was born in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, Ceará, on July 1, 1948, the son of Maria Helena Soares Mattos and José de Castro Mattos. In the late 50's, he moved to Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia, where his father held an important position at IBM. Mattos attended the schools of Salvador, including the university, and today continues to play an active role in the cultural life of this city.

After completing his high school work at the Colégio Central da Bahia, Salvador, in 1967, he began his undergraduate course. Between the spring of 1968 and fall of 1971 he attended the Federal University of Bahia. He received the degree of Bachelor in Journalism from the same University, in December 1971. After graduation he was employed as reporter and subsequently as a news editor in daily newspapers in Salvador. He worked for the Tribuna da Bahia and A Tarde. In 1975 he started to teach in the Department of Communication at the Federal University of Bahia. In January, 1979, he entered the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Austin. He was awarded the degree of Master of Arts in August 1980 and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, (Ph.D. in International Communication) in August, 1982.

In December 1977, this book, O Vigia do Tempo (Time's Sentinel) appeared and met with immediate success. This book of poems was subsequently translated to English by Maria Luisa Nunes and published in the United States. Sérgio Mattos is the author of several books of poetry, monographs, and thesis in English: "Time's Sentinel" (1979), "I No Longer Sing, I Cry" (1980),"The Development of Communication Policies Under the Peruvian Military Government"(1981), "The Impact of the 1964 Revolution on Brazilian Television"(1982), "Domestic and Foreign Advertising in Television and Mass Media Growth: A Case Study of Brazil"(1982), among others.