MARIA REZENDE is a Brazilian poet, performer, cinema and TV editor, and wedding celebrant. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1978, she has published four books of poetry during twenty years of her literary life. These books include:
• Substantivo Feminino / Feminine Substantive (2003)
• Bendita Palavra / Blessed Word (2008)
• Carne do Umbigo / Navel Flesh (2015) and
• Hermanas / Sisters (2019) in partnership with Spanish singer and guitarist Amparo Sánchez
Rezende’s work has appeared in anthologies, such as Poesia Sempre / Always Poetry of the Brazilian National Library and Naquela Língua: Antologia da Novíssima Poesia Brasileira / In That Language: Anthology of the Latest Brazilian Poetry, launched in Portugal in 2017.
The spoken word is one of the pillars of Rezende’s poetry. After learning to recite poetry with the poet and actress Elisa Lucinda at the age of eighteen, she has performed her poetry on stages throughout Brazil, as well as in Portugal, Spain, and Argentina.
Brazil’s renowned and award-winning poet Manoel de Barros (1916-2014) praised her 2003 debut collection: “It is, indeed, substantive poetry. The entire woman within the words. Poetry is a phenomenon of language than of ideas. You know this. Therefore, you are a poet.”
Her poetry captures a pulsating collective unconscious of the feminine, revealing the subtleties of everyday life. She finds love in all its aspects—enchantment, life together, lack of love, falling out of love—a powerful catalyst for poems.
Photo by Camilo Lobo posted on Poet's Official Website
