Porto Book Fair will honour Sophia de Mello Breyner

The Porto Book Fair 2017 will take place from 1 to 17 September 2017. This year, the Fair will honour Sophia de Mello Breyner, award-winning Portuguese poetess and writer.

The announcement was made today by Rui Moreira, mayor of Porto, at a press conference held this morning, at the Galeria Municipal do Porto, where Miguel Sousa Tavares, the writer ?son, who attended the conference.

In 2014, she was unanimously chosen by the Parliament with National Pantheon honours, the second woman to be so honored, after Amália Rodrigues.

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 most languages in the world.

The sea is most probably the central theme in her poetical works. Other important themes are Ancient Greece and ideas of freedom and justice.

As in previous years, Porto Book Fair will feature an intense cultural and animation program that includes debates, cinema, spoken word sessions, exhibitions, music, shows and activities for children and youth.

Since 2014, the Book Fair has been exclusively organised by Porto City Hall. It takes place in the Gardens of Palácio Cristal starting September 1, 2017.