News News: Publication of The Unknown Islands by Raul Brandão

In partnership with the Government of the Azores, Tagus Press, the publishing arm of the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, announces the publication of The Unknown Islands by Raul Brandão translated by David Brookshaw and with an introduction by Urbano Bettencourt.

In partnership with the Government of the Azores, Tagus Press, the publishing arm of the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, announces the publication of The Unknown Islands by Raul Brandão translated by David Brookshaw and with an introduction by Urbano Bettencourt. 

The Unknown Islands is considered one of the most beautiful works of travel literature in Portuguese and one of the most important homages to the Azorean archipelago. In the summer of 1924, Raul Brandão undertook a trip through the Azores and Madeira. Fascinated with the landscapes of the islands and seduced by the people, he went on to pen this foundational text of Azorean literature—elegantly capturing the natural beauty of the landscape as well as the culture and the imaginary of this storied place.

RAUL BRANDÃO (1867–1930) was a Portuguese intellectual, writer, journalist, and military officer. His writing is characterized by the powerful realism of his literary descriptions and the moving lyricism of his language. Although he published in a variety of genres, his sensitive and sympathetic portrayal of the human condition remained the central theme of his work.

URBANO BETTENCOURT holds a PhD in Portuguese Studies from the University of the Azores, where he lectured from 1990 until 2014. He is currently a researcher at the Research Center for Regional and Local Studies at the University of Madeira (CIERL-UMa) and the Center for Humanistic Studies at the University of the Azores (CEHu-UAc). Some of his recent publications include Com Navalhas e Navios (2019), O Amanhã Não Existe: Inquietação Insular e Figuração Satírica em José Martins Garcia (2017), and Outros nomes, outras guerras (2013).

DAVID BROOKSHAW is professor emeritus at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. He has published widely in the field of Brazilian and Lusophone post-colonial studies. His translations include, most recently, Mia Couto’s Woman of the Ashes (2018) and Carlos Morais José’s The Archive of Confessions (2019). His translation of Mia Couto’s A Espada e a Azagaia (The Sword and the Spear) is due out in 2020.

The Unknown Islands was published with the support of the Government of the Azores. The translation was supported, in part, by the Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Bibliotecas/Portugal (DGLAB).

The Unknown Islands is volume 4 of the Bellis Azorica Series, edited by Onésimo T. Almeida (Brown University) and Mario Pereira (UMass Dartmouth). 

To purchase The Unknown Islands, please visit the University of Massachusetts Press website by clicking HERE. 

For more information, please contact Mario Pereira, Executive Editor, at mpereira6@umassd.edu.