This book is the first collection of critical essays on Hilda Hilst (1930-2004) published in English. It brings together a variety of perspectives on one of Latin Americas most inventive and innovative authors.  Nine essays by scholars and translators reflect about various aspects of her work, placing it in the context of Brazil and world literature. During her lifetime, Hilst won several major national literary awards and attracted legions of devoted readers. Her writing spanned styles and genres, encompassing poetry, theatre, and experimental fiction. She was also considered to be a writers writer, and her literary achievements eluded both mainstream acclaim and international recognition. In recent years, Hilsts books have enjoyed increased visibility in Brazil and beyond. A host of translators (including three contributors to this volume) have finally made some of her masterpieces available in English. This pioneering collection of essays should excite longtime readers andintroduce her to a new audience.

Adam Morris is a translator and scholar, most recently at the University of Rochester Humanities Center, USA. He has translated Hilda Hilst, João Gilberto Noll, Machado de Assis, Carol Bensimon, and others. 

Bruno Carvalho is Associate Professor of Spanish and Portuguese and Associated Faculty in Comparative Literature at Princeton University, USA. He is the author of Porous City: A Cultural History of Rio de Janeiro (2013), and has published widely on Brazilian literature and urban cultures.

Introduction: Whos Afraid of Hilda Hilst? An Author Between Brazil and World Literature; Adam Morris& Bruno Carvalho.- PART I: HILST ON STAGE- 1. A Brazilian Teorema: Queering the Family in Hilda Hilsts O Visitante (The Visitor); David William Foster.- 2. Is the Word Alive? An Inquiry into Poetics and Theater in As aves da noite (Nightbirds) by Hilda Hilst; Tatiana Franca R. Zanirato.- PART II: OBSCENITY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION- 3. Figurations of Eros in Hilda Hilst; Eliane Robert Moraes.- 4. Hilda Hilst, Metaphysician; Adam Morris.- PART III: HILST IN NATIONAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXT- 5. A Nation on the Ground Floor: The Face of Brazil, Drawn with Hilda Hilsts Political Pen; Deneval Siqueira de Azevedo Filho.- 6. When Life is Extremely Bourgeois: Ideal love and non-conformism in the love poems of Hilda Hilst; Alva Martínez Teixeiro.- PART IV: HILST IN TRANSLATION.- 7. Translating Brazils Marquise de Sade; John Keene.- 8. Derelict of Duty; Nathanaël.- 9. Hilst on Hilst: Excerpts from interviews with the author, 1952-2003.