Maria Esther Maciel is a poet, novelist, essayist, and professor of literary theory and comparative literature at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil. Her publications include Triz (1999), O Livro de Zenóbia (2004), A Memória das Coisas (2004), O Livro dos Nomes (2008), A Vida ao Redor (2014), and Literatura e Animalidade (2016). She is working on a new novel about the life of St. Hildegard of Bingen.