“I just hope there is a possibility to continue proving that poetry has a place in our lives, in our commitments, in our daily struggles,” the poet told Lusa.
Ana Paula Tavares stated that since she received the news, her first thoughts were of the women of her country, Angola: “Those who continue in silence, fighting for life every day, inventing life, reconstructing that very life.”
“I have no pretensions of speaking on behalf of the women of my country. I am an Angolan woman, and that is my role, but if my words can somehow touch them and influence the entities that can—or should—change things, it’s a goal I would like to achieve,” said the writer, born in Lubango in 1952.
The writer, teacher, and women’s rights advocate Ana Paula Tavares today became the first Angolan woman to win the Camões Prize, after 37 editions of this award.
After Pepetela in 1997 and Luandino Vieira in 2006, the Camões Prize jury distinguished Ana Paula Tavares today, born in Lubango, in the province of Huíla, Angola, 72 years ago (she will celebrate her 73rd birthday at the end of this month).
Speaking to Lusa, the writer and teacher—who was previously a member of the Camões Prize jury—said she never expected this day to come, as her role as a juror made her aware that “so many people write so well” in the Portuguese language.
When asked how she views her career of more than 50 years, now in light of the Camões Prize, Ana Paula Tavares responded that her “encounter is always with work.”
“The one that satisfies me the most was truly a long career as a teacher. The word ‘teach’ might not be the most appropriate. That contact with a universe that is not ours. The fact that I always carry the motto of life to bring something new to each class,” explained the writer and university professor, who retired from the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Lisbon in 2023.
Ana Paula Tavares added that the practice of teaching was “a challenge that extended her professional career considerably.”
“Even today, when I look back, it’s very rewarding to think of those people, some of whom are old, like me, because I started very young. I have the experience of teaching in Angola and the experience of teaching here in Portugal […] and in all these places, there is that rewarding side, that side of the challenge, the questioning, which makes us think that this universe of the Portuguese language is indeed a rich universe,” said the author, who nevertheless stated she owes a great debt to poetry.
The fact that she dedicated so much time to work meant that often she could not “write what she would have liked to write.”
Because poetry “requires time that a person with a demanding professional activity, with many hours, does not easily find. Maybe now,” she concluded.
