The objective of this dissertation is to offer English translations of poems by the Brazilian poet Hilda Hilst and the Portuguese poet Adília Lopes; and present theories and reflections on poetry and translation. The poems by Hilda Hilst are selected from a book titled Júbilo, Mémoria, Noviciado da Paixão (1974) Formal complexity, musicality and lyrical intensity are some of the most striking characteristics of these poems. They are the love poems of a woman-poet writing to her lover. To translate Adília Lopes we have chosen poems from Antologia (2002), a Brazilian edition composed of a selection from various books, and Le vitrail, La Nuit & A árvore cortada (2006). Some of the important aspects of Adília’s poetry are her melancholic humour, her expeditious rhythm and a language that is considered by many as colloquial and ordinary. Considering that a translation desires to reproduce the general effect of the original poem the translator’s reading should thus pay careful attention to its material effects such as those triggered by the presence of rhythm, sound and rhyme. The dissertation presents theoretical approaches to art and poetry that focus on the materiality of poetry (the concept of presence as developed by Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht is especially relevant to this discussion). It also examines the work of three intellectuals that not only develop theories about poetry translation but are themselves also translators: Henri Meschonnic, Haroldo de Campos and Paulo Henriques Britto. After establishing a theoretical and practical basis for the translation of poetry, chapters 3 and 4 present the translations themselves. Each poem is followed by a commentary in which the difficulties and choices of translation are discussed.