Hilda Hilst

The Brazilian poet, playwright, and fiction writer Hilda Hilst was born in 1930 and died in 2004. She is the author of 40 books. Literary critics consider her to be one of the most important and controversial writers in the Portuguese language of the twentieth century. She has been awarded many literary prizes. Hilst’s poetry collection, Da morte. Odes mínimas was first published in Brazil in 1980 and republished by Editora Globo in 2003. Ironic as it may seem, Da morte. Odes mínimas, whose main theme is death, certainly wakes the reader up, as Hilst trusted that the written word had the power to do, to new considerations and experiences of life, as well as to new relationships with death. More importantly, it is a poet’s attempt at rewriting a world view tinged by cultural imaginaries. Hilst is now being recognized as one of Brazil’s most important writers. In spite of this, her work is still not widely known, especially outside Brazil. Da morte. Odes mínimas has never been translated into English before.