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Anthologie essentielle
128 pages, Unknown Binding
First published October 6, 2016
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About the author
Fernando Pessoa
1,252 books6,373 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.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 1, 2023
Cette “Anthologie essentielle” bilingue (PT/FR) fournit une collection restreinte mais exquise de poèmes pessoens, couvrant toute la carrière du poète (1888-1935).
Les hétéronymes majeurs (Alberto Caiero, Ricardo Reis, Álvaro de Campos) sont évidemment bien représentés et le recueil comprend aussi une bonne quinzaine de poèmes signés par Pessoa en son propre nom (dont la très célèbre “Autopsychographie”).
Surprise agréable, l’éditeur/traducteur y a ajouté deux poèmes d’Alexandre Search (un pseudonyme anglophone qui prédate les trois hétéronymes portugais majeurs) et quelques très beaux fragments du “Livre de l’intranquillité” du démi-hétéronyme Bernardo Soares.
Ensemble, ces textes offrent un avant-goût délicieux de l’oeuvre versatile d’un des auteurs les plus insaisissables du XXème siècle.
Les textes ont été traduits en un français très naturel et élégant. Comme, malheureusement, je ne lis pas le portugais je ne peux juger de la fidélité au texte source.
Les hétéronymes majeurs (Alberto Caiero, Ricardo Reis, Álvaro de Campos) sont évidemment bien représentés et le recueil comprend aussi une bonne quinzaine de poèmes signés par Pessoa en son propre nom (dont la très célèbre “Autopsychographie”).
Surprise agréable, l’éditeur/traducteur y a ajouté deux poèmes d’Alexandre Search (un pseudonyme anglophone qui prédate les trois hétéronymes portugais majeurs) et quelques très beaux fragments du “Livre de l’intranquillité” du démi-hétéronyme Bernardo Soares.
Ensemble, ces textes offrent un avant-goût délicieux de l’oeuvre versatile d’un des auteurs les plus insaisissables du XXème siècle.
Les textes ont été traduits en un français très naturel et élégant. Comme, malheureusement, je ne lis pas le portugais je ne peux juger de la fidélité au texte source.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews