Fernando Pessoa ??? Voices of a Nomadic Soul by Zbigniew Kotowicz

by Zbigniew Kotowicz

This a revised edition of Zbigniew Kotowicz's pioneering essay on the work of Pessoa, who is finally being recognised as one of the great European writers, and one of the great modernist poets of the 20th Century. Published in a uniform format with the rest of the Shearsman Books Pessoa Edition.

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Jim Coughenour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harold Bloom described Pessoa "as a fantastic invention (who) surpasses any creation by Borges." With a passion that would embarrass even Kierkegaard, Pessoa took his pseudonyms seriously (he called them "heteronyms"), inventing not only names, but biographies and books of poetry written by his inventions. During his life, he published only a fraction of the poetry and prose penned by his multiple personalities, stashing most of it in a trunk discovered after his death. Sometimes it's unclear who was supposed to have written what. Daimonic possession is hard on executors.

In this short study, Zbigniew Kotowicz provides some insight into the madness – separating the poet from the poets. He's particularly helpful with "Bernardo Soares" – author of The Book of Disquiet, by far my favorite among Pessoa's remains. Pessoa called it "the saddest book in Portugal." Kotowicz says it's "one of the most moving literary testimonies of a tortured twentieth-century soul." For me, it is pure dark comedy, and I can't help but believe it was for Pessoa too. Ennui has never been so exalted; self-torture never so eloquent. That had to feel good.

[José · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kotowicz knows what he is talking about! I felt his essays were very poetic, which should be the only way to speak about Pessoa, his heteronyms, his vision of life, and his poetics. This was certainly one of my favorite readings about the Portuguese poet.