The life and work of Portuguese writer Jorge de Sena (1919-1978) will be the focus of the First International Congress of the American Portuguese Studies Association, which will meet on campus Thursday-Sunday, March 26-29.
A poet, literary critic and author of more than 100 books, Sena is considered one of the most important Portuguese writers of this century. His first book of poetry, "Perseguicao," was published in 1942. He fled to Brazil in 1959 to escape the repressive regime of Antonio Salazar. Six years later, he emigrated to the United States, where he taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California (UC) at Santa Barbara. Many of his doctoral students have gone on to become leading scholars in Latin American studies. The Jorge de Sena Center for Portuguese Studies was established at UC Santa Barbara in his memory.
Among those attending the gathering at Yale will be the writer's widow, Mecia de Sena, some of his children and many of his former doctoral students, including K. David Jackson, professor of Spanish and Portuguese and chair of the Council on Latin American Studies, part of the Yale Center for International and Area Studies. Also on hand will be representatives from the Portuguese and Brazilian governments and scholars from around the world.
A poetry reading featuring the work of Sena and Fernando Pessoa will be held on Saturday, March 28, at 4 p.m. in the Whitney Humanities Center auditorium, 53 Wall St.
The film "Sinais de Fogo," based on a novel by Sena, will be screened on Friday, March 27, at 3:15 p.m. in the Whitney Humanities Center auditorium. The film is in Portuguese with English subtitles.
In conjunction with the conference, there will be an exhibit of items from Yale's collection of 120 titles by Sena, including a first edition of "Perseguicao," at Sterling Memorial Library, 120 High St. Sena's translation of Faulkner's "Wild Palms" into Portuguese will also be on display at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St.
There will be a $15 registration fee for the congress, payable at the door. For information about locations and times for the academic panels, consult the web site at http://poe.acc.virginia.edu/~dth/prog.html.
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