This thesis reflects about the poetry of Adília Lopes and Frank O Hara from the perspective of translation. The poems by Adília are selected from a book first published in 1987 titled O marquês de Chamilly (Kabale und Liebe) where she refers to Mariana Alcoforado s Cartas Portuguesas. 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. The poems by Frank O Hara are selected from his Collected Poems (1995). A New York School poet, O Hara became known for his I do this I do that poems, apparently written in a spontaneous manner. 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 thesis 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 4 and 5 present the work of each poet, followed by the poems and translations themselves. Each poem is followed by a commentary in which the difficulties and choices of translation are discussed.