His first book of poems, "Raiz de Orvalho", was published in 1983; it included texts aimed against the dominance of Marxist militant propaganda.
Še istega leta je FRELIMO prosil Couta, če bi za eno leto preložil študij in želel delati kot novinar "Tribune" in nato kot urednik na novo ustanovljene mozambiške informacijske agencije (Mozambique Information Agency - AIM).