Carlos Alberto Machado of Pico-based Companhia das Ilhas reflects on publishing the Canadian writer’s Antigonick in Portuguese and the independent publisher’s commitment to literature, critical thought, and artistic freedom.
The awarding of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature to Canadian writer Anne Carson has brought renewed attention to Companhia das Ilhas, an independent publishing house based on the Azorean island of Pico and one of the few Portuguese publishers to have released her work. In 2023, the company published Antigotriz, the Portuguese translation of Carson’s Antigonick, a contemporary reinterpretation of Sophocles’ Antigone.
In an interview with Diário Insular, publisher Carlos Alberto Machado welcomed the recognition while emphasizing that literary prizes have little influence on the fundamental mission of Companhia das Ilhas, which has developed a distinctive publishing program from its Atlantic island headquarters.
“We work for thought and for literature, in the broadest sense, as a political vocation,” Machado said. “That is what ennobles a publishing house. The rest is the foam of passing days.”
The publication of Antigotriz resulted from the suggestion of theater director Fernando Mora Ramos, associated with Teatro da Rainha, which has collaborated with Companhia das Ilhas on several publications. Translated into Portuguese by Isabel Lopes, a professor at the Coimbra School of Education, the book became the eleventh title in the publisher’s theater collection, which has since expanded to nearly 60 volumes.
Machado explained that the company was already familiar with Carson’s work, particularly through the pioneering efforts of João Concha and Ricardo Marques at não (edições), who had previously translated and published several of her books in Portugal.
Carson, born in Toronto in 1950, is a scholar of classical and comparative literature whose work crosses the boundaries of poetry, essay, translation, and dramatic experimentation. Her literary career began with Eros the Bittersweet in 1986, followed by numerous works exploring classical mythology, language, desire, memory, and the relationship between ancient texts and contemporary experience.
Among her distinctions are the T. S. Eliot Prize, the Griffin Poetry Prize, and the 2020 Princess of Asturias Award for Literature. Her Antigonick, first published in 2012, offers an unconventional interpretation of Sophocles’ tragedy, combining classical references with contemporary language and theatrical invention.
According to Fernando Mora Ramos, Carson’s work is neither a summary nor a conventional adaptation of Antigone. Instead, it brings the ancient tragedy into the present through a language that moves between direct translation from Greek and contemporary colloquial expression. Drawing upon literary and philosophical references that include Bertolt Brecht, Jean Anouilh, and Slavoj Žižek, Carson transforms a text approximately 2,500 years old into a work that speaks to modern audiences.
For Machado, this relationship between classical literature and contemporary thought is central to Carson’s significance. He cited the Swedish Academy’s description of her writing as emerging from the intersection between a philologist’s fascination with words and a poet’s search for new meanings.
Nevertheless, he insisted that the most important response to Carson’s recognition is straightforward: readers should engage with her books.
Asked whether the Nobel Prize might increase the visibility of Antigotriz and Companhia das Ilhas, Machado acknowledged that Carson is the first Nobel laureate represented in the publisher’s catalog. However, he expressed little interest in treating literary honors as measures of the company’s achievements.
The publisher has previously released works by several recognized Portuguese authors, including Frederico Pedreira, Cláudia Lucas Chéu, Judite Canha Fernandes, António Vieira, and João Barrento, recipient of the Camões Prize.
Machado described Companhia das Ilhas as a publisher operating at the margins of the Portuguese literary establishment, both geographically and institutionally. Rather than pursuing prizes or public recognition, he argued, its purpose is to encourage literary creation, intellectual inquiry, and the circulation of works that challenge readers.
His comments also highlight the contribution of smaller independent publishers to Portugal’s literary landscape. Operating from Pico, far from the country’s principal publishing centers, Companhia das Ilhas has developed a catalog that connects Azorean cultural activity with Portuguese and international literature.
The publication of Carson’s work illustrates how an independent publisher based in a small Atlantic community can participate in major international literary conversations without abandoning its editorial identity.
For Machado, the Nobel recognition is a welcome coincidence rather than a change of direction. The essential purpose of publishing remains the same: to make demanding, imaginative, and intellectually significant literature available to readers.
The distinction may introduce new Portuguese readers to Anne Carson and renewed interest in Antigotriz. It also draws attention to the editorial work being undertaken in the Azores, where literary publishing continues to contribute to cultural life well beyond the geographical boundaries of the archipelago.
As Machado’s reflections suggest, the lasting importance of a publishing house is not determined by the prizes its authors receive, but by the books it chooses to bring into the world and the conversations those books make possible.
Based on the interview with Carlos Alberto Machado, publisher of Companhia das Ilhas, published by Diário Insular, concerning Anne Carson and the Portuguese edition of Antigonick, titled Antigotriz.