Zulmira Died

Written by Virgínia do Carmo and translated by Richard Simas, this powerful and lyrical bookbrings to light the silenced story of Zulmira — a woman whose life and struggles echo those ofcountless others. Now available in English for the first time, Zulmira Died invites readers intoa moving portrait of resilience, injustice, and the enduring search for dignity.Diniz Borges (Bruma Publications)_In the saddest moments, Zulmira sat on the steps. She liked the feeling of unleveled reality andfelt that the uneven surface made sense of her troubled soul, full of doubts. It was as if the upsand downs of her thoughts was comparable to the rhythmic swinging of questions and thefluctuation of answers.The day Zulmira decided to go meet the town priest, she hoped he might give her a bit oftranquility, a level of justice upon which to rest from the steep slope at the summit of her effort.Perhaps a chance to sit and admire, passively, the peaceful levelling of her heart.What Zulmira didn’t know was that the church too was full of steps, missing steps made forsmall feet and regularized steps. And Zulmira finally realized she had sins, not doubts.(excerto/ excerpt)poética edições
NOVIDADE_Virgínia do Carmo (b. France, 1973), Portuguese writer and editor (Poética Edições), holds apost-graduate degree in Social Communication /Journalism from the University of Lisbon. Herpoetry and fiction has appeared in various individual and collective publications. She organizedthe anthology 13 Contemporary Portuguese Poets (Argentina, Leviatán Editorial, 2020), and isone of the poets included in the anthology Tras los claveles. 35 Portuguese poets 1970-1999(Spain, Garvm Ediciones, 2022). Zulmira died (Zulmira morreu), her first work to appear inEnglish, was translated and published in Spain. Her most recent book is entitled A menina queaprendeu a matar centopeias e outros poemas / The girl who learned to kill centipedes andother poems (Poética Edições, Portugal, 2023)._Richard Simas is a free-lance writer living in Montréal with a background in literature, music,and the performing arts. His publications appear regularly in contemporary art and literaryreviews in Europe and in North America with awards from the Journey Prize anthology, theFiddlehead Review Fiction competition, and a Camões Institute prize. His book about themusical exchanges between a Portuguese cod-fishing captain and a young Newfoundlandaccordion player, The Mystery of the Portuguese Waltzes, was published in 2019 with Runningthe Goat Press in New-foundland. A Portuguese-English version was published by PoéticaEdições in 2023. Searching for the Origins of the Portuguese Waltzes, a collection ofchronicles, was published in 2024 with Peter Lang Ltd.