Abstract

At 94 years of age, Manoel de Barros is the most widely read poet in Brazil and probably the most influential author in the panorama of contemporary Brazilian literature. He employs a brilliant and imaginative style of writing, in which echoes of European romantic and surrealist poetry coexist with Andrades' modernism and with the memory of Father Vieira's baroque prose and of Guimarães Rosa's linguistic experiments. De Barros is the idol of a heterogeneous public, consisting mainly of young people captivated by his message of deep inner freedom. This essay presents his human and literary figure in Italy, focusing on the first Italian translation of his verses.