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Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen

ソフィア・デ・メロ・ブレイナー・アンドレセン

Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1919-11-06 （Porto, Portugal）
Died
2004-07-02 （Lisbon, Portugal） age 84
Nationality
Portugal
Languages
Portuguese
Religion
Catholic (Roman Catholic)
Residence History
Porto (birthplace, childhood) → Lisbon (later life)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Poet, Translator
Active Years
1944-2004
Influenced By
Fernando Pessoa, Classical Greek authors (Plato, etc.), Pablo Picasso (influence from painting)
Influenced
Contemporary Portuguese poets, Miguel Sousa Tavares (son, writer)

Education

University of Lisbon
Classical Philology / Classics
Period: 1936–1939
Country: Portugal
Attended but did not complete a degree

Awards

Camões Prize
1999
Organization: Camões Prize (for Portuguese-language literature)
Result: 受賞
Grand Prize of Poetry (Portuguese Writers Society)
1964
Work: Livro Sexto
Organization: Portuguese Writers Society
Result: 受賞
Teixeira de Pascoaes Prize
1977
Work: O Nome das Coisas
Organization: Teixeira de Pascoaes Prize committee
Result: 受賞
Critics' Prize (International Association of Critics)
1983
Work: Complete works
Organization: International Association of Critics
Result: 受賞
King Diniz Prize (Casa de Mateus Foundation)
1989
Work: Ilhas
Organization: Casa de Mateus Foundation
Result: 受賞
Grand Prize for Poetry (Inasset/Inapa and Pen Club)
1990
Work: Ilhas
Organization: Inasset/Inapa and Pen Club
Result: 受賞
Calouste Gulbenkian Grand Prize for Literature for Children
1992
Work: Lifetime contribution to children's literature
Organization: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Result: 受賞
Vida Literária Prize
1994
Organization: Portuguese Association of Writers (Vida Literária)
Result: 受賞
Petrarch Honour Plaque (Petrarca)
1995
Organization: Italian Association of Editors
Result: 受賞
Luís Miguel Nava Foundation Prize
1998
Work: O Búzio de Cós and Other Poems
Organization: Luís Miguel Nava Foundation
Result: 受賞
Max Jacob Poetry Prize
2001
Organization: Max Jacob Prize committee
Result: 受賞
Reina Sofia Prize
2003
Organization: Reina Sofia Prize committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Poesia

1944 Poetry

Early poetry collection reflecting childhood memories, houses and close observation of nature.

HouseChildhoodNature

O Dia do Mar

1947 Poetry

A poetry book centered on the sea, exploring seascapes, human existence and time.

SeaTimeNature

Livro Sexto

1962 Poetry

One of her mid-career major works, containing poems marked by formal rigor and symbolic expression.

MemoryNatureLight

The Sea Girl (A Menina do Mar)

1958 Children's book (Tale)

A children's tale set by the sea, gently portraying nature and relations with others.

SeaGrowing upImagination

Ilhas

1989 Poetry

A late-career collection with meditative poems on islands, isolation and time.

IslandsIsolationTime

O Búzio de Cós

1997 Poetry

A late collection addressing the sea, memory and being.

SeaMemoryExistence

Bibliography

  • Poesia (1944)
  • O Dia do Mar (1947)
  • Coral (1950)
  • No Tempo Dividido (1954)
  • Mar Novo (1958)
  • Livro Sexto (1962)
  • Contos Exemplares (1962)
  • A Menina do Mar (1958)
  • O Nome das Coisas (1977)
  • Ilhas (1989)
  • O Búzio de Cós (1997)

Adaptations

  • Documentary 'Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen' (1969)
  • Film 'Ma femme chamada Bicho' (1978) — about and with Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
  • Film 'Correspondências' (2016) — about the epistolary exchange between poets

Translations by Author

  • Translations of Dante into Portuguese
  • Translations of Shakespeare into Portuguese

Translations of Works

  • Marine Rose: Selected Poems, tr. Ruth Fainlight (1987)
  • Log Book: Selected Poems, tr. Richard Zenith (1997)
  • The Perfect Hour, tr. Colin Rorrison with Margaret Jull Costa (2015)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Rigorous diction with a hieratic toneRich symbolic and allegorical imageryMelodic, ritual-like rhythm
Recurring Motifs
SeaHouse and garden (memories of rooms)Time (divided vs. absolute)Classical antiquity (Ancient Greece)Justice and morality

Legacy

One of the leading Portuguese poets of the 20th century. Through themes of the sea, the house and classical values she explored justice, time and memory in poetry; she also made significant contributions to children's literature and translation. Awarded the Camões Prize in 1999 and honored by reinterment in the National Pantheon in 2014.

Museums

  • Andresen House (Porto Botanical Garden) Porto, Portugal
  • Permanent display of poems at the Lisbon Oceanarium Lisbon, Portugal Opened in 2005

Academic Societies

  • Portuguese Association of Writers (Associação Portuguesa de Escritores)

Archives

  • National Library of Portugal (holds related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Featured in films and documentaries (1969 short documentary; 2016's 'Correspondências', etc.)

Quotes

  • “Poetry is my understanding of the universe, my way of relating to things, my participation in reality, my encounter with voices and images.”
    Source: Interview / Essay (1993)
  • “I have a lot of visual memory and I always remember houses, room by room, furniture by furniture.”
    Source: Interview (1993) (1993)

Trivia

  • She was the first Portuguese woman to receive the Camões Prize in 1999.
  • Died in 2004; her remains were moved to the National Pantheon in 2014.
  • She translated works by Dante and Shakespeare into Portuguese.
  • One of her sons is the writer and journalist Miguel Sousa Tavares.