Gastão Cruz

Gastão Cruz was born in 1941 in the coastal town of Faro, Portugal. He graduated from the University of Lisbon with a degree in Germanic Studies. In 1961, Cruz’s first collection of poetry was published in Poesia 61, a larger anthology put together by several young Portuguese poets. Cruz has published over the years as a poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. He also cofounded the group Theater Today and worked as a theater critic, director, and translator.

Cruz has published at least twenty volumes of poetry. His works in Portuguese include Outro Nome, As Aves, Teoria de Fala, O Pianista, and As Pedras Negras. Many volumes of his poetry and essays have been translated into English as well. In 2004, his Rua de Portugal received the Portuguese Association of Writers’ Grand Prize of Poetry.