The Portuguese Nobel Laureate JOSE SARAMAGO (1922 - 2010) was a novelist, playwright and journalist. His numerous books, including the bestselling All the Names, Blindness, and The Cave, established him as one of the world's most influential writers. He died in June 2010. GIOVANNI PONTIERO (1932 - 1996) was the ablest translator of twentieth century literature in Portuguese and one of its most ardent advocates. He was the principal translator into English of the works of Jose Saramago and was awarded the Teixeira-Gomes Prize for his translation of The Gospel According to Jesus Christ.