Judith Balso

Judith Balso is a French writer, philosopher, and Professor of Poetry at The European Graduate School (EGS) in Switzerland. She also taught at the Collège international de philosophie in Paris. Balso specializes in the intersection of poetry, philosophy, and politics, with a focus on Fernando Pessoa’s works. She earned her PhD in 1997 from Marc Bloch University (Strasbourg, France) with a dissertation on Pessoa’s metaphysical poetry.

Her research emphasizes Pessoa’s heteronyms and the role of poetry as a site of philosophical thought. Notable publications include Pessoa, The Metaphysical Courier (2011) and Affirmation of Poetry (2014), which argue for poetry’s necessity in critical thinking. Balso is a political activist since the 1970s, co-organizing The Idea of Communism conference (2009) and advocating for emancipatory politics.

Her academic contributions span literary analysis, metaphysical inquiry, and political theory, with critical acclaim from scholars like Alain Badiou and Michael Colson. She collaborates with renowned poets and philosophers, hosting seminars at EGS to explore poetic and philosophical discourse.