The main purpose of this study is to examine Brazilian literature translated into English as of 1990, based on Itamar Even-Zohar`s Polysystem Theory and on the descriptive approach to translation of Andre Lefevere and Gideon Toury. The study will analyze the characteristics of works translated during the last fourteen years and will serve as a basis to examine the determining forces in the selection, translation and circulation of Brazilian literary works in English- language polysystems. Hence, the present study will also examine aspects of the current publishing industry, its professionalization, and the growing role of the literary agent in promoting translation of Brazilian works. Secondly, this study will analyze the trajectory of works by authors such as Caio Fernando Abreu, Chico Buarque and Patricia Melo in English polysystems, particularly in the United States and Great Britain. Based on the proposed analyses, the conclusion of the study will discuss aspects related to how Brazilian works are received (both in the market and in academia) and how Brazilian cultural identities are represented, especially with regard to the urban environment, which is the main setting in the literary works of the three above-cited authors.