Accomplished poet to visit campus

Accomplished poet, translator and essayist Rosa Alice Branco will give a Portuguese poetry reading and host a discussion on her work “The Cattle of the Lord” at 7 p.m. on April 17 in the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences 1006.

Alexis Levitin, who translates works from Portugal, Brazil and Ecuador and is a distinguished professor of English at SUNY Plattsburgh, will also be featured at the event. Levitin has translated nearly 40 books, including Clarice Lispector’s “Soulstorm” and Eugenio de Andrade’s “Forbidden Words.” Levitin is widely recognized as one of the best and most prolific translators of poetry from Portuguese to English.

Branco won the 2009 Espiral Maior de Poesia Award and her volumes of her poetry have appeared in Spain, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Corsica, Tunisia, Brazil, Venezuela and Francophone Canada. She has published 11 volumes of poetry and two volumes of essays.

“This is a great opportunity for students who are in a variety of fields or just intellectually curious to see both art and craft at work,” said Matthew Turner, interim chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. As a poet, Rosa Alice Branco brings a wealth of experience, learning, and artistry to language and is able to speak with a unique voice formed in Portugal, a country with a rich cultural and literary history. This is a great opportunity for the University community to meet these world-class authors and scholars and learn something of the art of poetry.”

The event is sponsored by the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the School of Communication.