Dr. Vivien Lessa De Sá

Biography

Vivien Kogut Lessa de Sá is an Associate Professor specializing in Spanish and Portuguese within the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at the University of Cambridge. Her research interests are centered on comparative studies in Brazilian, Portuguese, and English literatures, particularly focusing on early colonial Brazil and early modern travel writing. Dr. Lessa de Sá's research explores sixteenth-century cultural exchanges between Europe and the New World, with a focus on the interactions between England, Portugal, and Brazil. She has previously taught at the University of Essex and at institutions in Brazil such as the State University of Rio de Janeiro and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. In 2015, she published a critical edition of the earliest descriptions of Brazil written by an Englishman entitled 'Admirable Adventures and Strange Fortunes: The Life of Anthony Knivet, English Pirate in Brazil' through Cambridge University Press. Additionally, she has translated Knivet’s account into Portuguese, which was released in Brazil in 2007. Her contributions to the field also include the 2020 publication, in Portuguese, of 'Ingleses no Brasil: relatos de viagem, 1526-1608,' which is a collection of twelve English travel accounts from colonial Brazil, marking a significant contribution to the understanding of historical narratives during that period. Dr. Lessa de Sá is also recognized for her work as a translator of poetry.

Research Interests