Regina Rheda

Regina Rheda (1957) is a Brazilian-born writer who lives in the United States. She is known for her prose fiction concerning urbanism, transnational migration, class conflicts, and animal rights. Before becoming a writer, she had worked with film, video and television, and she had been awarded many prizes as a writer-director of short films and videos. She earned the Jabuti prize for literature (1995) with her debut collection of short stories Arca sem Noé - Histórias do Edifício Copan, which was translated by Adria Frizzi and REYoung as Stories From the Copan Building, and included in the volume First World Third Class and Other Tales of the Global Mix (University of Texas Press). The most substantial segment in this volume is the title piece, a novel of discovery translated by David Coles and volume editor Charles A. Perrone. Rheda's book Humana Festa, A Novel has been considered a pioneer work of fiction for having veganism and the abolition of all animal exploitation as a guiding theme. Analysts have underlined originality, wit and irony in Rheda's style. Her work has interested scholars of Inter-American literature, Latin American literature, literature of Brazil, women writers, post-humanism, ecocriticism, animal studies, and veganism.

Translation of her works into English and other languages

• First World Third Class and Other Tales of the Global Mix. Contents include Arca sem Noé - Histórias do Edifício Copan (Stories from the Copan Building), the novel First World Third Class, and the short stories "The Enchanted Princess," "The Sanctuary," and "The Front." Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005. Translation: Charles A. Perrone, Adria Frizzi, REYoung and David Coles. ISBN 0-292-70699-5
• "Miss Carminda and the Prince." Translation of the short story "Dona Carminda e o príncipe." Journal Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism. Smith College/Indiana University Press, Fall 2004. Translation: Lydia Billon.

This story was also published in Croatian (translator: Jelena Bulic) at Sic Literary Journal (University of Zadar, Croatia).

• "The Sanctuary." Translation of the short story "O Santuário." Republished in the anthology Luso-American Literature: Writings by Portuguese-Speaking Authors in North America. Rutgers University Press, Summer 2011. Translation: Charles A. Perrone. ISBN 978-0-8135-5058-9
• Humana Festa, a Novel. Columbus: Zip/EP, 2012. Translation: Charles A. Perrone. Ebook and print. ISBN 978-1-934849-96-5.

Original works in Portuguese

Novels and story collections

• Arca sem Noé - Histórias do Edifício Copan. (Short story collection). Rio: Record, 2010. ISBN 978-85-01-08766-9. The first edition appeared in 1994.
• Pau-de-arara classe turística. (Novel). First ed.: Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1996. New edition in ebook format in 2013. ISBN 978-0-615-75095-8.
• Amor sem-vergonha. (Short story collection). Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1997. ISBN 85-01-04600-0.
• Livro que vende. (Novel). São Paulo: Altana, 2003. ISBN 85-87770-20-9.
• Humana festa. (Novel). São Paulo: Record, 2008. ISBN 978-85-01-08116-2.

Children's book

• A astrobolha de sabão. Regina Rheda (author). Ana Mara Abreu (illustrator). São Paulo: Editora Rios, 1983.

Participation in anthologies of various authors

• "O santuário." (Short story). In Pátria estranha. São Paulo: Nova Alexandria, 2002. ISBN 85-7492-029-0
• "Dona Carminda e o príncipe." (Short story). In Histórias dos tempos de escola. São Paulo: Nova Alexandria, 2002. ISBN 85-7492-051-7
• "A frente." (Short story). In Mais trinta mulheres que estão fazendo a nova literatura brasileira. Rio: Record, 2005. ISBN 85-01-07194-3
• "The Sanctuary." (Short story). In Luso-American Literature: Writings by Portuguese-Speaking Authors in North America. Rutgers University Press, Summer 2011. Translation: Charles A. Perrone. ISBN 978-0-8135-5058-9
• "O mau vizinho." (Both in Portuguese and in English translation by Adria Frizzi and REYoung). In Contrapuntos II. E-book. Digitus Indie Publishers, 2014.
• "Falta d'água." In Crônicas Brasileiras: a Reader. University Press of Florida, 2014.

Translations into Portuguese

• Empty Cages - Facing the Challenge of Animal Rights, by Tom Regan (Jaulas vazias: encarando o desafio dos direitos animais. Porto Alegre: Lugano, 2006).
• Materials from professor Gary L. Francione's official website/blog Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach (Direitos animais: a abordagem abolicionista).
• Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?, by Gary L. Francione (Introdução aos direitos animais: seu filho ou o cachorro? Campinas: Editora da Unicamp, 2013. ISBN 978-85-268-0997-0).

References

• Christopher Dunn: Introduction to First World Third Class and Other Tales of the Global Mix. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005.
• Maria Cláudia André and Eva Paulino Bueno, editors. Latin American Women Writers: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 2008.
• Earl E. Fitz and Elizabeth Lowe. Translation and the Rise of Inter-American Literature. University Press of Florida, 2007.
• Earl E. Fitz. Inter-American Literature: A Concise History. The Scholar Collection, 2012. (473 pp.) www.academicpub.com
• Coelho, Nelly Novaes. Dicionário crítico de escritoras brasileiras 1711-2001. São Paulo: Escrituras, 2002. p. 559.
• David William Foster. "Days and Nights at the Copan: Regina Rheda's Arca sem Noé." São Paulo: Perspectives on the City and Cultural Production (Gainesville: U P Florida, 2011).
• David William Foster. "Days and Nights at the Copan: Regina Rheda's Arca sem Noé". In Tradições portuguesas/Portuguese Traditions: In Honor of Claude L. Hulet. Edited by Frank Fagundes and Irene Maria F. Blayer.San Jose, Calif.: Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, 2007. 121-29.
• Prêmio Jabuti: 50 anos. São Paulo: Câmara Brasileira do Livro: Imprensa Oficial do Estado de São Paulo, 2008. [ISBN 978-85-7060-647-1]
• Kathy S. Leonard. Latin American Women Writers. Scarecrow Press, 2007. [ISBN 0810860155]
• Jairo Ferreira. Cinema de Invenção. Editora Max Limonad/Embrafilme, 1986.
• Alexandra Isfahani-Hammond. "Humana festa: zoo-romance interamericano e pós-escravista de Regina Rheda". In Pensar/escrever o animal: ensaios de zoopoética e biopolítica. Org.: Maria Esther Maciel. Santa Catarina: Editora UFSC, 2011.
• Sic Literary Journal (University of Zadar, Croatia).
• YouTube. Folguedos no Firmamento. (Short film. With English subtitles).
• Cinemateca Brasileira: Regina Rheda

External links

• Regina Rheda's site