Ana Luísa Amaral
Encyclopedia
Ana Luísa Amaral is a Portuguese poet
and a professor of Anglo-American Studies at the University of Porto
.
, near Porto
. She studied at the University of Porto, where she obtained her PhD in 1995 with a thesis on the poetry of Emily Dickinson
. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Anglo-American Studies at the University of Porto, as well as a founding member of the Board of Directors of UP's Margarida Losa Institute of Comparative Literature. Her academic research focuses on the areas of comparative poetics, feminist studies
and queer theory
. In addition to publishing numerous articles in Portuguese and international journals, in 2005 she co-authored (with Ana Gabriela Macedo) the Dicionário da Crítica Feminista (Dictionary of Feminist Criticism) and has recently published a new annotated edition of the feminist classic Novas Cartas Portuguesas (New Portuguese Letters) by Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta
and Maria Velho da Costa
.
and John Updike
) and books for children.
Amaral's poetry has been translated into several languages and volumes of her writings have been published in France, Brazil, Italy, and Sweden. She is also represented in many Portuguese and international anthologies. Her work has been awarded several literary prizes, including Portugal's most important prize for poetry (the "Grande Prémio" of the Portuguese Writers' Association) in 2008, for her book Entre Dois Rios e Outras Noites, and the Italian Giuseppe Acerbi
Prize in 2007.
Amaral's writings have been adapted for theater in two plays staged by the Porto
company Assédio (O Olhar Diagonal das Coisas in 2007 and A História da Aranha Leopoldina in 2009 and 2010).
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and a professor of Anglo-American Studies at the University of Porto
University of Porto
The University of Porto is a Portuguese public university located in Porto, and founded 22 March 1911. It is the largest Portuguese university by number of enrolled students and has one of the most noted research outputs in Portugal...
.
Biography
Amaral was born in Lisbon, but from the age of nine has lived in Leça da PalmeiraLeça da Palmeira
Leça da Palmeira is a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Matosinhos and part of the city with the same name. It has 5.97 km² and had 17.215 inhabitants in the 2001 census....
, near Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
. She studied at the University of Porto, where she obtained her PhD in 1995 with a thesis on the poetry of Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Anglo-American Studies at the University of Porto, as well as a founding member of the Board of Directors of UP's Margarida Losa Institute of Comparative Literature. Her academic research focuses on the areas of comparative poetics, feminist studies
Feminist Studies
Founded in 1972, Feminist Studies was the first scholarly journal in women’s studies and remains a premier journal in the field. It is currently an independent nonprofit publication housed at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland....
and queer theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
. In addition to publishing numerous articles in Portuguese and international journals, in 2005 she co-authored (with Ana Gabriela Macedo) the Dicionário da Crítica Feminista (Dictionary of Feminist Criticism) and has recently published a new annotated edition of the feminist classic Novas Cartas Portuguesas (New Portuguese Letters) by Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta
Maria Teresa Horta
Maria Teresa Mascarenhas Horta is a Portuguese writer.She is bachelor in the Universidade de Lisboa and she has worked as a journalist...
and Maria Velho da Costa
Maria Velho da Costa
Maria de Fátima de Bívar Velho da Costa is a Portuguese writer who was awarded the Camões Prize in 2002. She took part of the Portuguese Feminist Movement with Maria Isabel Barreno and Maria Teresa Horta ....
.
Literary career
Amaral's first volume of poetry, Minha Senhora de Quê (Milady of What), was published in 1990. The collection's title alluded to Maria Teresa Horta's 1971 volume Minha Senhora de Mim (Milady of Me), thereby explicitly inscribing Amaral's work into the emergent genealogy of Portuguese women’s poetry. Since then, she has published ten further original collections of poetry and two volumes of collected poems, in addition to several translations (including poetry by Emily DickinsonEmily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
and John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
) and books for children.
Amaral's poetry has been translated into several languages and volumes of her writings have been published in France, Brazil, Italy, and Sweden. She is also represented in many Portuguese and international anthologies. Her work has been awarded several literary prizes, including Portugal's most important prize for poetry (the "Grande Prémio" of the Portuguese Writers' Association) in 2008, for her book Entre Dois Rios e Outras Noites, and the Italian Giuseppe Acerbi
Giuseppe Acerbi
Giuseppe Acerbi was an Italian naturalist, explorer and composer.-Biography:Acerbi was born in Castel Goffredo...
Prize in 2007.
Amaral's writings have been adapted for theater in two plays staged by the Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
company Assédio (O Olhar Diagonal das Coisas in 2007 and A História da Aranha Leopoldina in 2009 and 2010).
Poetry
- Minha Senhora de Quê (1990; 2nd. ed. 1999)
- Coisas de Partir (1993; 2nd. ed. 2001)
- Epopeias (1994)
- E Muitos os Caminhos (1995)
- Às Vezes o Paraíso (1998; 2nd. ed. 2000)
- Imagens (2000)
- Imagias (2002)
- A Arte de Ser Tigre (2003)
- A Génese do Amor (2005)
- Poesia Reunida (1990–2005) (2005)
- Entre Dois Rios e Outras Noites (2007)
- Se Fosse um Intervalo (2009)
- Inversos: Poesia 1990-2010 (2010)
Translations
- Xanana Gusmão, Mar Meu/My Sea of Timor (co-transl. with Kristy Sword; 1998)
- Eunice de Souza, Poemas Escolhidos (2001)
- John Updike, Ponto Último e Outros Poemas (2009)
- Emily Dickinson, Cem Poemas (2010)
Children's books
- Gaspar, o Dedo Diferente e Outras Histórias (1999)
- A História da Aranha Leopoldina (2000; 2nd. ed. with an audiobook 2010)