Sophia de Mello Breyner

Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (November 6, 1919 in Porto – July 2, 2004 in Lisbon) was an award-winning Portuguese poet and writer. In 2014, she was unanimously chosen by the Parliament with National Pantheon honours, the second woman to be so honored, after Amália Rodrigues.

Sophia, as she is often referred to in Portugal, was born in Porto to a wealthy aristocratic family. She inherited the surname 'Andresen' from her paternal great grandfather, a Danish merchant. She received a strict Catholic upbringing, and was to remain a fervent believer until the end of her life. After spending her childhood in Porto she moved to Lisbon, where she attended the Universidade de Lisboa. As a student, she was actively involved in Catholic movements. Politically, she defended constitutional monarchy and openly criticized Salazar's dictatorship. In 1946 she married lawyer and politician Francisco Sousa Tavares. They had five children, among whom is journalist and best-selling author Miguel Sousa Tavares. After the Carnation Revolution in 1974, she made a brief incursion into politics as an MP for the Socialist Party (centre-left).

Andresen won acclaim as a storyteller with Contos Exemplares (Exemplary Tales),"Histórias da Terra e do Mar" (Stories of Land and Sea), and a number of children's books – A Menina do Mar (The Sea Girl), O Cavaleiro da Dinamarca (The Danish Knight), A Floresta (The Forest), O Rapaz de Bronze (The Bronze Boy), A Fada Oriana (The Fairy Oriana). She also published several poetry books and anthologies, including: Poesia, Dual, Livro Sexto, Coral, Dia do Mar, No Tempo Dividido, Grades, O Nome das Coisas, As Ilhas, Antologia, Geografia, Navegações, O Búzio de Cós. In 1999 she became the first woman to receive the highest Portuguese award for poetry, the Prémio Camões. She was also awarded the Max Jacob Poetry Prize,in 2001, and the Spanish Prémio Reinha Sofia in 2003.

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