[1] Most notably, he translated the works of José Saramago and Clarice Lispector, two celebrated names in Portuguese-language literature.
Born and raised in Glasgow, after secondary school Pontiero went into seminary at Biggar and later at Rimini, Italy, but at age 24 decided to abdicate from a religious career.
[2] He graduated from the university of Glasgow in 1960 and completed his PhD while in Brazil at Universidade Federal de Paraíba, returning to Manchester to defend his thesis on Manuel Bandeira.
He was later promoted to senior lecturer and finally Reader in Latin-American Literature in the Victoria University of Manchester until his retirement in 1995.
[3] Pontiero had a lifelong interest in the theatre, in particular the work of the great Italian actress Eleonora Duse (1858–1924).