Ana Paula Tavares wants to continue proving that poetry has a place "in daily struggles"

"I just hope that there is the possibility of continuing to prove that poetry has a place in our lives, in our commitments, in our daily struggles," the poet told Lusa.

Ana Paula Tavares stated that, from the moment she heard the news, the first thing that came to mind were the women of her country, Angola: "Those who remain silent, fighting for life every day, inventing life, rebuilding that same life."

"I have no intention 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 the bodies that can - or should - change things, that is a goal I would like to achieve," said the writer, born in Lubango in 1952.

Writer, teacher and women's rights advocate Ana Paula Tavares became the first Angolan woman to win the Camões Prize today, after 37 years of this award.

After Pepetela, in 1997, and Luandino Vieira, in 2006, the Camões Prize jury today distinguished Ana Paula Tavares, born in Lubango, in the province of Huíla, in 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 judge made her aware that "there are so many people writing so well" in Portuguese.

When asked how she looks back on her career spanning over 50 years, now in light of the Camões Prize, Ana Paula Tavares responded that her "encounter is always with work."

"What truly satisfies me is a long career as a teacher. The word 'teaching' is perhaps not the most appropriate. That contact with a universe that is not our own. The fact that my life motto is to always bring something new to each class," explained the writer and university professor, who retired from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Lisbon in 2023.

Ana Paula Tavares added that the teaching profession was "a challenge that prolonged [her] professional career for a long time."

"Even today, when I look back, it's very rewarding to think about these people, some of them are already 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 this rewarding side, this side of challenge, of questioning, which leads us to think that this universe of the Portuguese language is a truly rich universe," said the author, who, nevertheless, said she has a great debt to poetry.

The fact that he dedicated himself so much to so much work meant that he was often unable to "write what he would have liked to have written."

Because poetry "requires time that someone with a demanding, long-hours job" doesn't easily find. "Maybe now" he added.

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