Trans-European Journeys
Trans-European Journeys: Bringing Portuguese Literature to Greek Readers
Translated by Aristea-Effrosyni Sapera
Part of the Trans-European Journeys project, co-funded by Creative Europe
Co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe Programme.
When a book crosses borders, it carries more than words, it transports entire worlds of meaning, nuance, and cultural memory. A Leveza Do Olhar, now reimagined as Η ελαφρότητα του βλέμματος, embarks on precisely such a journey. It travels across the Mediterranean from Portuguese shores to Greek soil, moving from one ancient literary tradition to another.
The Trans-European Journeys Initiative
This translation exists thanks to Trans-European Journeys, an exciting Creative Europe programme that recognizes a fundamental truth: Europe’s cultural richness lies not in isolation but in conversation. Co-funded by the European Union, the Trans-European Journeys project promotes the circulation of contemporary literature across linguistic borders, ensuring that exceptional voices reach readers who might otherwise never encounter them.
The Trans-European Journeys initiative understands what publishers have always known: translation is not merely linguistic gymnastics but an act of cultural diplomacy Through TJ, Letras Ausentes is part of a network of six publishers across five countries, all committed to building cultural and literary bridges. Not bureaucratic ones, but the kind constructed from syntax, metaphor, and the delicate architecture of meaning that survives the passage from one language to another
From Portuguese Lightness to Greek Luminosity
Η ελαφρότητα του βλέμματος: A Collection of Poems
By Agostinho Adrego Pessanha
Publication Date: November 11, 2025
The title itself, A Leveza Do Olhar, poses an immediate challenge to any translator. “Leveza” encompasses lightness, yes, but also weightlessness, grace, a certain buoyant spirit. “Olhar” is simultaneously a gaze, a look, a way of seeing. It’s the kind of Portuguese word that contains multitudes, refusing to be pinned down by any single English equivalent.
Enter Aristea-Effrosyni Sapera, whose translation renders this as Η ελαφρότητα του βλέμματος. The Greek “ελαφρότητα” (elafrotita) captures that essential lightness, while “βλέμματος” (vlémmatos) brings its own rich associations—the act of looking, the quality of one’s vision, the very lens through which we perceive the world. It’s a title that feels at home in Greek while remaining faithful to its Portuguese origins, a minor miracle of translation.
The Art of Cultural Transfer
What Sapera accomplishes in this translation is more than linguistic competence—though her command of both Portuguese and Greek is evident on every page. She skillfully balances fidelity and readability, preserving the original’s distinctive voice while allowing it to speak naturally in Greek. This translation is a delicate task that demands equal measures of confidence and precision.
The Trans-European Journeys project recognizes that such work deserves support and celebration. In an era when English threatens to become the default lingua franca of European literature, initiatives like Transeuropean Journeys affirm the value of linguistic diversity. They insist that a Greek reader encountering Portuguese literature through translation gains something irreplaceable, not a diluted version of the original, but a new work that exists in the space between languages.
“Translation is that which transforms everything so that nothing changes.” — Günter Grass
The Architecture of Joint Aspiration
This Greek edition of A Leveza Do Olhar represents a collaboration among multiple parties: Agostinho Adrego Pessanha, the original author, whose vision sparked the entire enterprise; Aristea-Effrosyni Sapera, whose translator’s art made that vision accessible to Greek readers; Letras Ausentes, who believed the book worthy of investment; and the Trans-European Journeys programme, funded by Creative Europe, which made the whole endeavour financially viable.
It is a reminder that the creative process, despite the solitary image of the writer at their desk, is fundamentally a collective mission. Books require ecosystems—publishers, translators, distributors, booksellers, reviewers, and ultimately readers, each playing their part in keeping literature alive and in motion.
The Journey Continues
The Trans-European Journeys project takes its name seriously. This is not about static cultural products but dynamic processes of exchange and transformation. Η ελαφρότητα του βλέμματος now embarks on its journey through Greece, finding readers who will bring their experiences and perspectives to its pages, creating meanings the original author might never have imagined.
This is what Transeuropean Journeys makes possible: not just the movement of books across borders, but the circulation of ideas, the cross-pollination of literary traditions, the ongoing conversation that defines European culture at its best. Each translation funded through Trans-European Journeys is an investment in that conversation, ensuring it remains multilingual, multivocal, and vibrantly alive.
About Trans-European Journeys
The Trans-European Journeys project represents the European Union’s commitment to cultural diversity and literary exchange through its Creative Europe programme. By co-funding translations like Η ελαφρότητα του βλέμματος, this initiative ensures that exceptional literature breaks through linguistic barriers, enriching readers across the continent and beyond.
Through this same cultural architecture, Transeuropean Journeys extends Portuguese literary voices beyond European borders. Retalhos Lusitanos 葡风剪影: A Collection of Poems brings together contemporary Portuguese poetry in Chinese translation, demonstrating how Creative Europe’s vision transcends geographical boundaries to foster dialogue between Lusophone and Sinophone literary communities. Together, these translations, from Portuguese into Greek and Chinese, exemplify the project’s commitment to genuine multilingual and multicultural exchange.
Letras Ausentes and European Literary Exchange
For Letras Ausentes, participation in Trans-European Journeys represents both an honour and a natural extension of our mission. We have always believed that “absent letters,” our name’s literal translation, need not remain absent. Every translation we publish fills a gap in the literary landscape, making present what was previously unavailable to readers in a particular language.
The Trans-European Journeys framework provides crucial support for this work, acknowledging that translation costs money and that publishers willing to take risks on foreign literature deserve assistance. Without Creative Europe’s backing and the structure of Trans-European Journeys, many notable books would never find their audiences beyond their original linguistic borders.
Trans-European Journeys is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
