大象传媒

A rare encounter with one of Brazil's most extraordinary poets. Ad茅lia Prado has shunned the spotlight since her discovery in 1976 - then a 40-year-old mother of five living in the interior state of Minas Gerais. Now aged 80, her sensual, devout, sometimes provocative poetry is read and admired around the world.

For this programme, in the company of her long-time translator and fellow poet Ellen Dor茅 Watson, she invites us into her home to talk about her life and work.

Ad茅lia Prado was discovered by Brazil's foremost modern poet, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, who launched her literary career with the announcement that St Francis was dictating verses to a housewife in the backwaters of the interior state of Minas Gerais. She writes about the transcendent in ordinary life, of how the human experience is both mystical and carnal. She has been called one of the major voices of the Americas, who 'would remind you of Emily Dickinson if she didn't keep reminding you of Walt Whitman'.

With Poetic Licence, Denouement, Seduction, Neighbourhood and Day from The Alphabet in the Park: Selected Poems of Ad茅lia Prado, published by Wesleyan. Copyright 1990 Ad茅lia Prado and Ellen Dor茅 Watson. The Mystical Rose and Spiritual Exercise from Ex-Voto: Poems of Ad茅lia Prado, published by Tupelo Press. Copyright 2013 Ad茅lia Prado and Ellen Dor茅 Watson. Ad茅lia Prado, The Mystical Rose: Selected Poems, translated by Ellen Dor茅 Watson (Bloodaxe Books, 2014). Used with permission.

Producer: Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.