Synopses & Reviews
Writing obsessively in French, English, and Portuguese, Fernando Pessoa left a prodigious body of work, much of it under "heteronyms"—fully fleshed alter egos with startlingly different styles and points of view. Offering a unique sampling of all his most famous voices, this collection features poems that have never before been translated alongside many originally composed in English. In addition to such major works as "Maritime Ode of Campos" and his Goethe-inspired Faust, written in blank verse, there are several stunning poems that have only come to light in the last five years. Selected and translated by leading Pessoa scholar Richard Zenith, this is the finest introduction available to the breadth of Pessoa’s genius.
- The translations are based on the most authoritative editions, verified against the original manuscripts
- Includes an Introduction discussing Pessoa, his work, and the phenomenon of "heteronymy" as well as a chronology
Synopsis
This is the largest and richest volume of poetry by Pessoa available in English. It includes generous selections from the three poetic alter egos that the Portuguese writer dubbed heteronyms - Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis and Alvaro de Campos - and from the vast and varied work he wrote under his own name.
Synopsis
The largest and richest English-language volume of poetry from "the greatest twentieth-century writer you have never heard of" (Los Angeles Times) Edited, Translated, and with an Introduction by Richard Zenith, the author of the magisterial biography Pessoa
A Penguin Classic
Writing obsessively in French, English, and Portuguese, poet Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) left a prodigious body of work, much of it credited to three "heteronyms"―Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis, and Alvaro de Campos―alter egos with startlingly different styles, points of view, and biographies. Offering a unique sampling of his most famous voices, this collection features Pessoa's major, best-known works and several stunning poems that have come to light only in this century, including his long, highly autobiographical swan song. Featuring a rich body of work that has never before been translated into English, this is the finest introduction available to the stunning breadth of Pessoa's genius.
About the Author
Fernando Pessoa (18881935), born in Lisbon and brought up in South Africa, returned to Portugal in 1905, where he wrote prolifically while supporting himself as a translator.
Richard Zenith works as a writer and researcher in the Fernando Pessoa archives in Lisbon. He translated The Book of Disquiet for Penguin Classics.