Giovanni Pontiero

Giovanni Pontiero (died 1997) was a translator of Portuguese fiction, most notably the works of José Saramago. His translation of the Saramago work The Gospel According to Jesus Christ was awarded the Teixeira-Gomes Prize for Portuguese translation.

During his life he held the title of Reader in Latin-American Literature in the University of Manchester, and was the principle translator into English of the works of Clarice Lispector, and met acclaim for his translation of Lispector's A Hora da Estrela, known in English as The Hour of the Star. According to Dr. Isis McElroy, professor of Brazilian literature at Arizona State University, Pontiero is known for saying, "Encounters with the animal world are frequent in Lispector’s stories. Untouched by human contradictions, animals are more alive because they are more secure than human beings."