Hilda Hilst

Hilda Hilst (1930–2004), born in Jaú, São Paulo state, was a poet, playwright, and novelist. Trained in law at the University of São Paulo, at the age of thirty-five she moved to the Casa do Sol on the outskirts of Campinas, where she devoted herself entirely to writing. Her works available in English include the novels The Obscene Madame D and Letters from a Seducer (Pushkin Press Classics, 2025), the novella With My Dog Eyes (Melville House, 2014), and the poetry collection Of Death. Minimal Odes (co•im•press, 2018). (updated 4/2026)