Joao Cabral de Melo Neto (1920-1999) was a Brazilian poet and diplomat from Pernambuco, one of the most influential writers in late Brazilian modernism. His work is marked by stark simplicity and rigorous poetic structure, addressing poverty and social inequality in northeastern Brazil. His landmark work Morte e Vida Severina (1956) is considered a masterpiece of social poetry. He received the 1990 Camoes Prize and the 1992 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

"The poems are subtle and wise, the work of a man who has seen much of the world and who knows humanity." -- The Hudson Review