София де Мелло Брейнэр Андресен: Жизнь и творчество португальской поэтессы

Portuguese poet and writer (1919–2004)

Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (6 November 1919 – 2 July 2004) was a Portuguese poet and writer. Her remains have been entombed in the National Pantheon since 2014.

Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen was born on 6 November 1919 in Porto, Portugal. She was the daughter of Maria Amelia de Mello Breyner and João Henrique Andresen. She had Danish ancestry on her father's side, notably her paternal great grandfather, Jan Andresen, who had traveled alone to Porto as a boy and never left the region. In 1895, Sophia's grandfather bought Quinta do Campo Alegre, now known as the Porto Botanical Garden, where he raised his family. As stated in a 1993 interview, the house and grounds were "a fabulous territory with a large and rich family served by a large household staff." and denouncing President Salazar's regime and its followers. The song called "Cantata da Paz", became famous as an intervention song of the Progressive Catholics: "We see, hear and read. We cannot ignore!" In 1946, she married journalist, politician and lawyer Francisco Sousa Tavares Initially, her body was buried in Carnide Cemetery, but on 20 February 2014 the Assembly of the Republic unanimously decided to honor the poet by entombing her remains in the Portuguese National Pantheon. The relocation ceremony took place on 2 July 2014.

From her childhood and youth, she emphasized the importance of houses, and memories that had a great impact on her work, describing and recalling the houses and the objects inside them. She explained this as follows: "I have a lot of visual memory and I always remember houses, room by room, furniture by furniture, and I remember many houses that have disappeared from my life I try to 'represent', I mean, 'bring back the things I liked,' and that's what goes with houses: I want their memory not to drift, not to be lost. "Andresen also believed that poetry had a fundamental transformative value. Her writing corresponded to specific cycles, with the culmination of the activity at night: "I cannot write in the morning, I need that special concentration that is being created at night." </blockquote>According to Dulce Maria Quintela, Andresen's life and memories are an inspiration because she "speaks of herself through her poetry".

Andresen began her love of poetry as a child when, at the age of three, she was taught "A Nau Catrineta" by her nanny Laura.</blockquote>Based on Luísa Pessoa's observations, Andresen focuses on themes such as: childhood and youth, which she uses as a reference space ("The Garden and the House", Poetry, 1944; "House", Geography, 1967; "White House", Poetry, 1944; "Lost Garden", Poetry, Garden and the Night, Poetry, 1944).

In the Lisbon Oceanarium, since 2005, some of Andresen's poems with a strong connection to the sea have been placed for permanent reading in the rest areas, allowing visitors to absorb the boldness of her writing while immersed in a deep sea environment. "Poetry," she explained, "is my understanding of the universe, my way of relating to things, my participation in reality, my encounter with voices and images. This is why a poem speaks not of an ideal life but of a concrete one: the angle of a window, the resonance of streets, cities and rooms, the shadow cast by a wall, a sudden face, the silence, distance and brightness of the stars, the night’s breath, the scent of linden and of oregano." The sea is probably the most central theme in her poetical works. Other recurring themes are Ancient Greece and ideas of freedom and justice. Her poetry has been translated into English by Ruth Fainlight, Richard Zenith and most recently by Colin Rorrison with Margaret Jull Costa, as well as into many other world languages. A documentary short film about Andresen was produced in 1969. It was the first completed film by director João César Monteiro (then using the name João César Santos).

"Juro que venho para mentir"; "És como a Terra Mãe que nos devora"; "O mar rolou sobre as suas ondas negras"; "História improvável"; "Gráfico", Távola Redonda Folhas de Poesia, nº 7, July 1950. "Reza da manhã de Maio"; "Poema", A Serpente Fascículos de Poesia, nº 1, January 1951. "Caminho da Índia", A Cidade Nova, suplemento dos nº 4–5, 3rd series, Coimbra, 1958. "A viagem" [Fragmento do poema inédito "Naufrágio"], Cidade Nova, 5th series, nº 6, December 1958. "Novembro"; "Na minha vida há sempre um silêncio morto"; "Inverno", February Textos de Poesia, 1972. "Brasil 77", Loreto 13 Revista Literária da Associação Portuguesa de Escritores, nº 8, March 1982. "A veste dos fariseus", Jornal dos Poetas e Trovadores Mensário de Divulgação Cultural, nº 5/6, 2nd series, March/April 1983. "Oblíquo Setembro de equinócio tarde", Portugal Socialista, January 1984. "Canção do Amor Primeiro", Sete Poemas para Júlio (National Library, quota nº L39709), 1988. "No meu Paiz", Escritor, nº 4, 1995. "D. António Ferreira Gomes. Bispo do Porto"; "Naquele tempo" ["Dois poemas inéditos"], Jornal de Letras, 16 June 1999.

Contos Exemplares (1962, Lisbon, Livraria Morais Editora; 24.ª ed. 1991)
Histórias da Terra e do Mar (1984, Lisbon, Edições Salamandra; 3.ª ed., Lisbon, Texto Editora, 1989)

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

Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen reading from her own work (1985).