What do you think?
Rate this book
Self-Analysis & Thirty Other Poems
Bilingual edition: Japanese / Português
Antologia bilingue que engloba uma fina seleção de poemas de Fernando Pessoa ortónimo e dos seus mais importantes heterónimos: Alberto Caeiro, Álvaro de Campos e Ricardo Reis.
Um livro ideal para quem se quer iniciar na poesia de um dos maiores poetas mundiais do século XX.
Antologia bilingue que engloba uma fina seleção de poemas de Fernando Pessoa ortónimo e dos seus mais importantes heterónimos: Alberto Caeiro, Álvaro de Campos e Ricardo Reis.
Um livro ideal para quem se quer iniciar na poesia de um dos maiores poetas mundiais do século XX.
89 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
10 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Fernando Pessoa
1,244 books6,322 followersFernando António Nogueira Pessoa was a poet and writer.
It is sometimes said that the four greatest Portuguese poets of modern times are Fernando Pessoa. The statement is possible since Pessoa, whose name means ‘person’ in Portuguese, had three alter egos who wrote in styles completely different from his own. In fact Pessoa wrote under dozens of names, but Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis and Álvaro de Campos were – their creator claimed – full-fledged individuals who wrote things that he himself would never or could never write. He dubbed them ‘heteronyms’ rather than pseudonyms, since they were not false names but “other names”, belonging to distinct literary personalities. Not only were their styles different; they thought differently, they had different religious and political views, different aesthetic sensibilities, different social temperaments. And each produced a large body of poetry. Álvaro de Campos and Ricardo Reis also signed dozens of pages of prose.
The critic Harold Bloom referred to him in the book The Western Canon as the most representative poet of the twentieth century, along with Pablo Neruda.
It is sometimes said that the four greatest Portuguese poets of modern times are Fernando Pessoa. The statement is possible since Pessoa, whose name means ‘person’ in Portuguese, had three alter egos who wrote in styles completely different from his own. In fact Pessoa wrote under dozens of names, but Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis and Álvaro de Campos were – their creator claimed – full-fledged individuals who wrote things that he himself would never or could never write. He dubbed them ‘heteronyms’ rather than pseudonyms, since they were not false names but “other names”, belonging to distinct literary personalities. Not only were their styles different; they thought differently, they had different religious and political views, different aesthetic sensibilities, different social temperaments. And each produced a large body of poetry. Álvaro de Campos and Ricardo Reis also signed dozens of pages of prose.
The critic Harold Bloom referred to him in the book The Western Canon as the most representative poet of the twentieth century, along with Pablo Neruda.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 7, 2023
The illustrations are pretty.
I don’t get Pessoa I think. His poetry is very sentimental and shows a lot of black and white thinking, mommy issues and a very egocentric perspective. It lacks nuance, which is what I look for in poetry.
I do, however, think it reflects Portuguese sentiment: strong emotions and emotional reactions to a dynamic and ever-changing world.
Perhaps I am more used to a more dry, Dutch view on the world.
I don’t get Pessoa I think. His poetry is very sentimental and shows a lot of black and white thinking, mommy issues and a very egocentric perspective. It lacks nuance, which is what I look for in poetry.
I do, however, think it reflects Portuguese sentiment: strong emotions and emotional reactions to a dynamic and ever-changing world.
Perhaps I am more used to a more dry, Dutch view on the world.
September 17, 2023
Ik lees normaal geen poëzie maar dit was geweldie.
August 29, 2024
I really felt more of a 2.5 stars, but I rounded up for the book’s benefit. I think I kind of missed the point of this, but the Alberto Caeiro ones were the best.
July 24, 2023
I received the book as a gift.
The poetry itself was enjoyable but I found myself referring to the Portuguese (I have the Bi-Lingual Edition) because things didn’t feel right. Some of the word choice of the translator may have been accurate but didn’t capture the feeling of what I felt the poet was achieving in his own language (which I know makes Poetry very difficult to translate). I didn’t like that the translator took liberty with punctuation (choosing to omit nearly all ellipsis and in one case fabricating parenthesis), as I feel like a series of periods has a different meaning than a singular.
I will refer to the poets words themselves to sum my feelings “[…]/But to say I was happy to see it: nothing else.”
The poetry itself was enjoyable but I found myself referring to the Portuguese (I have the Bi-Lingual Edition) because things didn’t feel right. Some of the word choice of the translator may have been accurate but didn’t capture the feeling of what I felt the poet was achieving in his own language (which I know makes Poetry very difficult to translate). I didn’t like that the translator took liberty with punctuation (choosing to omit nearly all ellipsis and in one case fabricating parenthesis), as I feel like a series of periods has a different meaning than a singular.
I will refer to the poets words themselves to sum my feelings “[…]/But to say I was happy to see it: nothing else.”
July 26, 2024
Picked this book up at the oldest bookstore in the world during my trip to Lisbon last year. One of my favorite souvenirs of recent memory as it is stamped with authenticity from the historical bookstore. Pessoa is well known in the city and across Portugal and I even got to see where he used to live. It’s impressive to see him create so many unique personalities and perspectives with his various heteronyms. His works under the name Alberto Caeiro were my favorite from this book with his Campos persona being my second favorite. As always with translations I feel there is some depth and passion lost in the English versions of these Portuguese poems; however, I still enjoyed the read. Will definitely be revisiting these poems in future years.
June 16, 2025
3.5
a collection of poems by pessoa and his heteronyms caeiro, de campos and reis
each persona has a distinct voice and deals with its own unique subjects. I enjoyed alvaro de campos’ poems the most for their witty, satirical (i assume) and storytelling nature.
reis is more whimsical and caeiro and pessoa both deal with grief, insecurity and a slight sense of existentialism (perhaps even slightly nihilist in some poems)
overall, there is a theme of grief, guilt and remembering within the existential overtone; many of the poems reference war and death due to war, likely influenced by WW1 (pessoa worked as a foreign correspondent in lisbon).
pessoa also authored the book of disquiet under another pseudonym.
a collection of poems by pessoa and his heteronyms caeiro, de campos and reis
each persona has a distinct voice and deals with its own unique subjects. I enjoyed alvaro de campos’ poems the most for their witty, satirical (i assume) and storytelling nature.
reis is more whimsical and caeiro and pessoa both deal with grief, insecurity and a slight sense of existentialism (perhaps even slightly nihilist in some poems)
overall, there is a theme of grief, guilt and remembering within the existential overtone; many of the poems reference war and death due to war, likely influenced by WW1 (pessoa worked as a foreign correspondent in lisbon).
pessoa also authored the book of disquiet under another pseudonym.
July 18, 2023
Mixed feelings with this one but that’s probably a product of the challenges with translating poetry, and my limited Portuguese vocabulary could only get me so far with the original texts. Of Pessoa and his heteronyms, I think I liked the work of Álvaro de Campos best—I marked up his poems the most—but my favorite poem was one by Alberto Caeiro (“Li hoje quase duas páginas”). I don’t know a lot about translating text, but I will say that it felt like some of the rhythm and the meandering thoughts that seem characteristic of Pessoa’s style were lost in the English. I’m looking forward to going through these again when my Portuguese is stronger.
September 26, 2023
Sofro, Lidia, do medo do destino.
A leve pedra que un momento ergue
As lisas rodas do meu carro, attera
Meu coração.
The whole thing about Pessoa's heteronyms is, at least to this particular reader in 2023, more interesting than "their" works. But yeah, you can tell "they" write quite differently. Reis seems to hit the best for me right now. Also, English translations of Latin languages, especially for poetry, are necessarily shaky - Monteiro does a decent job, but there were multiple instances where it changed what the kids would call the vibe.
July 29, 2023
Although poetry usually doesn't have my main interest, I picked this up in Lisbon. I must say I enjoyed it. Some poems went over my head, but it was okay. Others I really enjoyed reading. Pessoa is a very interesting writer, and it is cool to read him and his heteronyms alongside each other. I already have a favourite in Campos. I'd recommend this book to enjoy some Pessoa without too much dedication to his entire life's work (because I think one could analyse it for ages).
January 30, 2024
I discovered Pessoa last year and this is the third book of his that I am reading, so he really left an impression on me.
I enjoyed this collection of his poetry a lot and while I do agree that sometimes the translations don‘t transmit the exact feeling as the original, this one does a pretty good job in general. Pessoa‘s writing is so worth reading and this will be a book I‘ll keep on my bag at all times.
I enjoyed this collection of his poetry a lot and while I do agree that sometimes the translations don‘t transmit the exact feeling as the original, this one does a pretty good job in general. Pessoa‘s writing is so worth reading and this will be a book I‘ll keep on my bag at all times.
July 18, 2024
i picked up this book as a souvenir last summer in portugal. i make it a tradition to bring back a representative book from each country i visit, bringing home with me a piece of that place.
the story of pessoa seemed to follow me everywhere in lisbon. usually, i shy away from reading poetry in translation, as something often gets lost. i felt that way here, too. i found some poems captivating, others less so. yet, the ones that spoke to me did so profoundly, making me appreciate the entire collection.
i'll check The Book of Disquiet as well.
the story of pessoa seemed to follow me everywhere in lisbon. usually, i shy away from reading poetry in translation, as something often gets lost. i felt that way here, too. i found some poems captivating, others less so. yet, the ones that spoke to me did so profoundly, making me appreciate the entire collection.
i'll check The Book of Disquiet as well.
August 19, 2023
En mi caso ha sido la versión en castellano. Llevaba años sin leer poesía, y la verdad que lo he disfrutado. El personaje en sí (que no conocía), con sus diferentes heterónimos ya merece la pena, aunque en este libro apenas se diferencie esa "vida propia" que tenía cada uno de ellos.
March 18, 2025
Descubrí a Pessoa en 2022 cuando trabajé en la feria del libro y lo preguntaban muchísimo.
No sé cuantas almas tengo y Poema en Línea recta llegaron a mí en mi peor momento, supongo que en esos momentos es cuando de verdad entiendes la poesía.
No sé cuantas almas tengo y Poema en Línea recta llegaron a mí en mi peor momento, supongo que en esos momentos es cuando de verdad entiendes la poesía.
May 7, 2023
Nice introduction to Pessoa and his other "personalities". The reader can get a glimpse into the world of Pessoa, Caeiro, Campos, Reis. Made me want to explore more.
May 19, 2024
Álvaro de Campos was my favourite heteronym, best:
1. The thing about me is that I am tired
2. Psyche-typing
3. Clearly non-campos!
1. The thing about me is that I am tired
2. Psyche-typing
3. Clearly non-campos!
September 29, 2024
I picked this book up quite randomly at a small store in Porto. I had not heard of Pessoa prior to this. His poetry has moved me.
October 17, 2024
I feel many of these poems are very very beautiful, but the rhythm and impact are lost in the translation :(
April 12, 2023
Uma forma simples de conhecer Pessoa e os estilos dos diferentes heterónimos. E achei piada a ler algumas das traduções para inglês.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews