Poetry - Minimal Anthology

by Fernando Pessoa, Jerónimo Pizarro (Editor), John Pedro Schwartz (Translator)

THE MOST CONCISE ANTHOLOGY OF THE VASTEST OF POETS

This book is an invitation to «unlearn Pessoa,» to use an expression by the master, Alberto Caeiro, and to read him as if we had just discovered him. Contrary to a recent tendency to locate the poet in a new setting—less literary and cultural, more urban and utilitarian—this Minimal Anthology proposes the discovery or rediscovery of Fernando Pessoa through some of the twentieth century’s most astonishing poems: from «Maritime Ode» to «Tobacco Shop,» moving through «Slanting Rain,« «The Monster,» «The Keeper of Flocks,» «Opiary,» «Autopsychography,» and many lesser‑known poems, all of them revealing a genius that continues to elicit shock, delight, and admiration.

The essential poetry of Fernando Pessoa and his principal heteronyms, in an edition by Jerónimo Pizarro.

Also available in Portuguese.

Genres: Poetry, Portugal

320 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2020

About the author

Fernando 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.

Reviews

[Rui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incrível! Curiosamente, Álvaro de Campos teve os poemas de que menos gostei, e também aqueles que mais adorei. Passei a ver Ricardo Reis com outros olhos, muito muito bom.

[Diogo Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every piece of it.

[Inês · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75
Para Pessoa Ortónimo 5 estrelas!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully published book, from the layout, inclusion of original writing to the paper…

[māris šteinbergs · Rating 5 out of 5]

viņš tik vientulīgs, mīļš vīriņš ar ūsiņām kā kēkss

[Alexandre Oliveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sempre me senti um pouco Ricardo Reis, quando leio Caeiro é ele que eu sou. Agora conheci também melhor o Álvaro de Campos e com uma intensidade menor, também o sinto.

Serei eu (e todos nós um pouco) um bocadinho de Pessoa, com um atraso de 100 anos ?

Vou continuar a explorar a sua obra, que cada vez mais me cativa e confunde. Bónus ainda para a imagem dos poemas, em especial para os com correções e notas à mão.

[tanya ᕦ⁠ʕ⁠ ⁠•⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠ʔ⁠ᕤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

One love Fernando pessoa <3

[Rocio Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Escoger entre tantas compilaciones, entre tanto bagaje de austeridad y divertimento, es difícil, pues caemos en el irremediable infortunio de elegir.
Fernando Pessoa es claramente uno de los poetas con una(s) de las voces mas reverenciadas de la historia de la literatura. Junto a la chispa de su ternura espiritual, lo imagino en una habitación pluma en mano, desesperado por contar lo que ven sus ojos y denostar lo que dicen otros.
Contar con un lenguaje único debió de ser insufrible, un desespero por explotar en verso: sobre el devenir del tiempo, las cosas que pasan a través de una ventana, los sentimientos que aclaman en la extrañeza de una vida que transcurre y no perdona en el tiempo.
Pessoa y heterónimos tiene... Debe leerse, es un deber ser.

[Erin Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

📖 a lesson and that sometimes the most effective writing is done in fewer words. I very much enjoyed the works by the main author, especially the one about his mom. Some of the other writers, I did not so much enjoy. There was one that just felt like he had an ego through the pages. But the main Portuguese guy? I thought he was a very talented poet and I very much enjoyed his work. This is just a reminder that sometimes bigger does not mean better. It means I get bored quicker and care less actually.

[Eduardo Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

seleção interessante e bem variada de Pessoa, até incluindo poemas em inglês e francês. prefiro o ortônimo aos heterônimos.

"Grande é a poesia, a bondade e as danças...
Mas o melhor do mundo são as crianças,
Flores, músicas, o luar, e o sol, que peca
Só quando, em vez de criar, seca.

O mais do que isto
É Jesus Cristo,
Que não sabia nada de finanças
Nem consta que tivesse biblioteca..."

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fernando Pessoa is close to William Blake in my humble opinion. This collection lacks the simple philosophies that I’ve enjoyed in other collections of Pessoa, though. It’s Pessoa, so it’s good, but I’d stick with another anthology if you’re looking for the whimsical and pastoral philosophies he spits. Come here for sonnets. This is mostly sonnets.

[Athenea Olsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinada por este señor y sus heterónimos. Cuatro vidas en una. No estoy muy habituada a leer poesía pero me ha parecido una selección de poemas muy variada y muy bien presentada. Se percibe con naturalidad la personalidad de cada una de sus vidas creadas.

[Jenny Cooke (Bookish Shenanigans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really lovely edition and presentation of Pessoa's poetry with glimpses of his manuscripts and a few photos accompanying the poems. While I didn't love his longer poems, there was a lot of merit in his shorter ones.

[Patricia Posse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ler Pessoa nunca desilude e este livro permitiu aceder à digitalização de alguns escritos e conhecer outros heterónimos.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read book, recommend a lot

[Bill Rand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pessoa went from being a poet I barely knew about to being one of my favorite poets over the course of this book.

[Cam Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book. I loved that the layout included original writings. Such a fresh way to look at the author of many masks. A job well-done.

[LaMartínez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fingir es la cura

[Natalia Diniz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eu demorei 6 anos para ler tudo. Veio no momento certo. Quero ler novamente durante os próximos 40 anos da minha vida.

[Sara Garcia Venero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ricardo Reis>>>