UI instructor Cristiane Barbosa de Lira poses for a portrait on Feb. 19, 2020. Barbosa de Lira recently got a book of poetry published in Brazil and is the only Portuguese professor at the university.
Samantha Murray, The Daily Iowan
With the help of Mulherio das Letras, an all-women writing group based in Brazil, University of Iowa Portuguese Professor Cristiane Barbosa de Lira recently published two books. Her work is also included in past collections of the growing literary organization.
For Brazilian-born Barbosa de Lira, who goes by Cris Lira at the UI, Mulherio das Letras is an important group. It formed in 2017 when author and founder Maria Valeria Rezende organized a Facebook group to celebrate women writers because no women were nominated for a literary award in Brazil’s well-known culture and literary magazine Bravo!.
Within a few months, the group had produced its first collection of books. During an interview with The Daily Iowan, Barbosa de Lira brought out a set of four books that made up the first collection. They appeared homemade, bound in pink, yellow, and green cardboard covers with painted lettering.