The Selected Prose of Fernando Pessoa

For those of you unfamiliar with the prose and poesy of Fernando Pessoa, I am disappointed to inform you that no explanation can fully encapsulate the profundity and (as stated in the small text on the book’s cover) “fecundity” of his works; and for those of you familiar with Pessoa, no explanation is needed.I want it to be known that I am striving to be concise with my thoughts while still attempting to convey the depth of this particular composition, but I am afraid this book it too densely packed (if that is even possible) with works of literary genius for me to sufficiently and succinctly summarize them here, but I will do my best.One question: Where do I begin…? For those unlearned in Pessoan literature, Pessoa has a unique signature in his compositions: a sublime yet mystifying ability to create personas (“heteronyms”), extensions of himself, out of thin air. He builds entire lives for this entourage of literary companions who, in turn, assist him in the composition of his works. And he is able to imbue them with the most realistic of voices and personalities, such that is makes you question whether or not his feats were a solo job. Yes, Pessoa is known for his beautiful diction and his awe-inspiring breadth of expertise and ability, but what amazed me most was the construction of the heteronyms, a sort of ‘authorial plurality’, that (at least to me) was such a novel talent—something I had never seen before. It was after reading “The Book of Disquiet”, his magnum opus, that I was dying to see more of Álvaro de Campos and Ricardo Reis (if you’ve never read Pessoa, you won’t get the reference), and I knew I had to delve deeper into his work. And, man, am I happy I did! This collection of poems, letters, essays, short stories, epigrams, aphorisms, and even a play (“The Mariner”—so good) perfectly compliments the “BoD”. I frequently found myself writing then rewriting dozens of phrases and terms in the margins of the book, and it got to the point where my marginalia began to breach the invisible boundaries of the printed text. But no shame at all—I loved it! What a journey this book is!With such an acute talent for concision and brevity, Pessoa is able to pack an entire universe into each of his paragraphs—an entire lifetime into each sentence—and create passages that require (quite literally) multiple read-throughs just to conceptualize the tip of his ethereal iceberg. It’s incredible! His oeuvre at one point or another delves into every emotional state possible, each tinged with the unshakable self-consciousness, uneasiness, attentiveness to everyday life, and introspectiveness that seems to have permeated through every facet of Pessoa’s life. And not only that, the vast diversity of subjects expounded in this collection of writing is incredible: historical analysis, political discussion, anarchy, tyranny, romance, social fiction, satire, sadism, artistic despair, religion, atheism, astrology, occultism, Greek mythology, Shakespeare, Wilde, Swift, Dickens, Joyce,…I think you get the point. Additionally, despite the handy collection of “Notes” at the end of the book, to fully understand all of his references and allusions you will—undoubtedly—need a Google search bar primed and ready. But this is not a bad thing! To me, this guided scholarly exploration was one of the best parts: being spontaneously pushed into an intellectual rabbit hole where I find myself stumbling into Wikipedia and later resurface only to be caught researching ‘The History of Portuguese Imperialism’ or ‘The Myth of Herostratus’ or ‘Political Philosophy of Anarchism’ (yes, that was an actual search). At times, I forgot I even had a book lying sprawled in front of me—never before has that happened to me.This passage is exactly what I mean when I say “attentiveness to everyday life”:Poetry is in everything—in land and in sea, in lake and in riverside. It is in the city too—deny it not —it is evident to me here as I sit: there is poetry in this table, in this paper, in this inkstand; there is poetry in the rattling of the cars on the streets, in each minute, common, ridiculous motion of a workman who [on] the other side of the street is painting the signboard of a butcher’s shop...For poetry is astonishment, admiration, as of a being fallen from the skies taking full consciousness of his fall, astonished at things. (28)Now, as I try to coral my meandering thoughts, I can’t help but look through the past Amazon reviews, and I notice that one customer described the book as “obscure”—I couldn’t agree more. But it is this particular obscurity that makes Pessoa the enigmatic author that he known for being today. He is a complete mystery yet he is everything a woman would want in a man: a poet, an essayist, a playwright, a lover, a dreamer, an unpredictable anomaly, an intellectual (in every sense of the term), a dozen authors in one (so, when you think of it like that, this really this is one hell of a deal), and so much more. But, despite my claim that he is perfect ‘husband material’, he struggled immensely with love and was never able to settle down with the woman of his dreams. I’ve got some good news for you: you’ll hear all about his marital issues and his immensely disquieting sexual dissatisfaction in the book.And finally, last but not least, we must consider the quality of the translation. The majority of Pessoa’s writings were originally composed in Portuguese, and I am happy to say that the contents of this book remain fairly unadulterated after the translation process (of course, though, there are always elements lost in translation); in fact, I was incredibly impressed by Richard Zenith’s grasp of both Portuguese culture and Pessoa’s life; it added a tinge of modern opinion and insight to the writings that are nearly a century old—but are still incredibly relevant. I have read several collections of Pessoa’s work that were handled by other translators and Zenith is hands down the preeminent one for (what I would image to be) such a daunting task. After listening to multiple interviews conducted with Zenith going over his years of Pessoan translation, I have noted his ardor for the composition and organization of the late author’s fragmentary works—25,000 manuscripts—that were left behind. If you are a Pessoa fan (and have stuck with me this long), I would recommend reading/listening to Zenith discuss his translation of Pessoa; he explains in-depth some of the stylistic choices that he made in the editorial process and different aspects of Pessoa’s life that he desired to capture in the works.In sum, buy the book (even if my jumpy review did not push you to do so—I can sense Pessoa’s fitfully unpredictable writing style beginning to rub off on me). Not much else needs to be said that isn’t stated above. I loved it—I hope you do too!P.S. If you have not already bought “The Book of Disquiet”, I would highly advise purchasing the Penguin Classics version; that is the version translated by Richard Zenith. Enjoy!

Richard Zenith is my favourite translator of Pessoa; in this collection, he brings the insight and perspective he brought to his transcendant "Pessoa & Co." and "Book of Disquietude." The puckish nature of Pessoa's heteronym project is put into sharp relief: those who know only Pessoa/Soares may have thought the subsumption into heteronymology a sad affaire. This collection complicates and deepens that perspective, with selections ranging from the whole of Pessoa's life, from the childhood Alexander Search to the elderly and Stoic Baron of Tieve, yet remains (as Pessoa remains) wholly delightful and charming. A Maria José even appears, in a letter "From A Hunchbacked Girl To A Metalworker" (a heartbreaking letter, I may add). Pessoa's possibly affected eccentricities are in full evidence here: witness the "Riddle Of The Stars," a kind of proto-"Changing Light At Sandover," wherein Pessoa receives otherworldly communiqués via automatic writing and the spirits exhort him repeatedly to lose his virginity. Other kicks: his "static drama" "O Marinhero" and Alvaro de Campos' "Ultimatum," where he personally attacks everyone responsible for World War I (and I mean, _everyone_). Zenith's notes are indispensable (though he peculiarly abandons his "Disquietude" for "Disquiet," and chooses American English as his idiom). All in all, a welcome addition to the Pessoan archive in English, and a breathtaking array of further complications.

Recommend,very obscure yet one of the best international writters, he took several alias while writing books and this one is quite impressive since there arent many translated from portuguese to english.

He possesses and inimitable Writing style of pros and poetry few can imitate.

If you can't read Pessoa in the original, this Zenith translation is the best in English tbh. Not sure what the rationale was for ordering the fragments, since it certainly wasn't chronological, but it works.

An uneven collection but to be expected with how Pessoa wrote. At its worst, maudlin and self-pitying but at its best (The Book of Disquiet), it is essential reading. Get the full text.

great book