Abstract: In this essay I primarily intend to provide the American public with an introduction to the poetry of Herberto Helder. I first comment on aspects of Helder’s reception. My central task, however, will be a summarized description of the main “thematic” manifestations of Poesia Toda, in articulation with the myth of poetry as it is represented in Helder’s work. My contention is that his literary universe operates as a particular mythicization of the poetic process (through representations of the “poetic subject,” the figure of “the poet,” the figure of the critic, the idea of inspiration, etc.) whose study is essential for the understanding of Helder’s poetry. I will address the different dimensions of this mythicization—the most important of which is the quality of “sublimity.” Finally, I will comparatively address aspects of the work of Helder and Pessoa, focusing on their respective constructions of the myth of poetry
