Hilda Hilst

Brazilian writer who often described herself as "the forgotten poet." Although primarily known for her erotic works, Hilst published a number of award-winning books including "Seven Cantos of the Poet for an Angel," 1962, "The Executioner," 1969, and "Fictions," 1977.

Born in the city of Jaú, São Paulo, she moved to Santos with her mother when her parents separated. In 1937, Hilst enrolled at Marcelina Saint College where she spent the next eight years; after completing her studies, she registered in a classics course at the Mackenzie School. Advised by her mother to pursue a career in writing, Hilst attended College of the Plaza of San Francisco from 1948-52. Her book "Red Cacti" was published in 1949, followed by "Omen," 1950 and "Ballad of Alzira," 1951. She spent June to December 1957 traveling in Europe where she met actors Dean Martin and Marlon Brando by masquerading as a journalist, and until 1963, her bohemian lifestyle and "advanced" ways scandalized the high society of São Paulo.

Retreating from her whirlwind social life in order to dedicate herself to her writing in 1966, Hilst moved into her newly constructed "House of the Sun" on a farm near her mother’s property. She spent the next few years working on a series that included "The Possessed," 1967, and during the 1970s, she primarily concentrated on writing through mediumship, using information she said was given to her by "dead people." In 1990, she wrote "Goodbye to Serious Literature," which marked a radical turning point in her career. In an attempt to increase sales and find the public recognition that she craved, she began a pornographic phase, publishing "Letters of a Seducer" in 1991. Hilst’s anthology of poetry titled "Of Love" was released in 1999.

Her parents both suffered from mental illness. In 1946, she visited her father, a farmer, journalist and poet, for the first time since her parents’ separation.