Fernando Pessoa and Co.: Selected Poems [Paperback]

Fernando Pessoa (Author), Richard Zenith (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935) - a poet who lived most his life in Lisbon, Portugal, and who died in obscurity there - has in recent years gained international recognition as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. Now Richard Zenith has collected in a single volume all the major poetry of "one of the most extraordinary poetic talents the century has produced" (Microsoft Network's Reading Forum). Fernando Pessoa was as much a creator of personas as he was of poetry, prose, and criticism. He wrote under numerous "heteronyms," literary alter egos with fully fleshed identities and writing styles, who supported and criticized each other's work in the margins of his drafts and in the literary journals of the time. From spare minimalism to a revolutionary exuberance that recalls Leaves of Grass, Pessoa's oeuvre was radically new and anticipated contemporary literary concerns to an unnerving degree. The first comprehensive edition of Pessoa's poetry in the English language, Fernando Pessoa & Co. is a work of extraordinary depth and poetic precision. "Zenith's selection of Pessoa is a beautiful one-volume course in the soul of the twentieth century." -- Booklist

Editorial Reviews

Review

Ah! They Want A Light That's Better Than The Sun's
Ah, The First Minutes In Cafes Of New Cities
Ah, The Freshness In The Face Of Leaving A Task Undone
Ah, When We Set Out To Sea
All Love Letters Are
The Ancients Invoked The Muses
At Long Last - No Doubt About It
Birthday
But It's Not Just The Cadaver
The Child Who Thinks About Fairies And Believes In Them
Deferral
Dirty Unknown Child Playing Outside My Door
I Can Also Make Conjectures
I Don't Know If The Stars Rule The World
I Got Off The Train
I Leaned Back In The Deck Chair And Closed My Eyes
I Lie Down In The Grass
I Study Myself But Can't Perceive
I Walk In The Night Of The Suburban Street
I'd Like To Be Able To Like Liking
I'm Beginning To Know Myself. I Don't Exist
I've Been Thinking About Nothing At All
If I Die Young
Impassively
It Is Night. It's Very Dark. In A House Far Away
It Was On One Of My Voyages
The Keeper Of Sheep: 1
The Keeper Of Sheep: 10
The Keeper Of Sheep: 18
The Keeper Of Sheep: 2
The Keeper Of Sheep: 20
The Keeper Of Sheep: 23
The Keeper Of Sheep: 24
The Keeper Of Sheep: 32
The Keeper Of Sheep: 37
The Keeper Of Sheep: 38
The Keeper Of Sheep: 39
The Keeper Of Sheep: 40
The Keeper Of Sheep: 42
The Keeper Of Sheep: 47
The Keeper Of Sheep: 5
The Keeper Of Sheep: 9
Listen, Daisy. When I Die, Although
The Message: Epitaph Of Bartolomeu Dias
The Message: Ferdinand Magellan
The Message: Portuguese Sea
The Message: Prayer
The Message: Prince Henry The Navigator
The Message: The Sea Monster
No! All I Want Is Freedom
A Note In The Margin
Odes: Above The Truth Reign The Gods
Odes: Ah, You Believers In Christs And Marys
Odes: As If Each Kiss
Odes: As Long As I Feel The Full Breeze In My Hair
Odes: Countless Lives Inhabit Us
Odes: Day After Day Life's The Same Life
Odes: Don't Clap Your Hands Before Beauty
Odes: Each Man Is A World, And As Each Fountain
Odes: Fate Frightens Me, Lydia. Nothing Is Certain
Odes: Follow Your Destiny
Odes: Here, With No Other Apollo Than Apollo
Odes: How Great A Sadness And Bitterness
Odes: I Devote My Higher Mind To The Ardent
Odes: I Don't Know If The Love You Give Is Love You Have
Odes: I Placidly Wait For What I Don't Know
Odes: I Prefer Roses, My Love, To The Homeland
Odes: I Tell With Severity. I Think What I Feel
Odes: I Want My Verses To Be Like Jewels
Odes: I Was Left In The World, All Alone
Odes: Let The Gods
Odes: Lips Red From Wine
Odes: My Eyes See The Fields, The Fields
Odes: Not Only Wine But Its Oblivion I Pour
Odes: O Morning That Breaks Without Looking At Me
Odes: Obey The Law, Whether It's Wrong Or You Are
Odes: On This Day When The Green Fields
Odes: Others Narrate With Lyres Or Harps
Odes: Solemnly Over The Fertile Land
Odes: The Bird Alights, Looking Only To Its Alighting
Odes: The Gods Grant Nothing More Than Life
Odes: Want Little: You'll Have Everything
Odes: What We Feel, Not What Is Felt
Odes: Where There Are Roses We Plant Doubt
Odes: Who Delights In The Mind Can Delight In No Destiny
Odes: Your Dead Gods Tell Me Nothing I Need
On The Eve Of Never Departing
Oporto-style Tripe
Pack Your Bags For Nowhere At All
Pop
Reality
The Shepherd In Love: Before I Had You
The Shepherd In Love: The Shepherd In Love Lost His Staff
The Shepherd In Love: Perhaps Those Who Are Good At Seeing
Slowly The Field Unrolls And Shines Golden
Sometimes I Meditate
Songbook: Almost Anonymous You Smile
Songbook: By The Moonlight, In The Distance
Songbook: Dreams, Systems, Myths, Ideals
Songbook: From The Mountain Comes A Song
Songbook: I Contemplate The Silent Pond
Songbook: I Divide What I Know
Songbook: I Don't Know How Many Souls I Have
Songbook: I Don't Know How To Be Truly Sad
Songbook: I Feel Sorry For The Stars
Songbook: I Have Ideas And Reasons
Songbook: I Have In Me Like A Haze
Songbook: I Hear In The Night Across The Street
Songbook: I Seem To Be Growing Calm
Songbook: I'm Sorry I Don't Respond
Songbook: If I Think For More Than A Moment
Songbook: In The Light-footed March Of Heavy Time
Songbook: Like A Uselessly Full Glass
Songbook: Like An Astonishing Remnant
Songbook: Outside Where The Trees
Songbook: The Child That Laughs In The Street
Songbook: The Clouds Are Dark
Songbook: The Day Is Quiet, Quiet Is The Wind
Songbook: The Gods Are Happy
Songbook: The Soul With Boundaries
Songbook: The Sun Rests Unmoving
Songbook: The Sun Shining Over The Field
Songbook: The Washwoman Beats The Laundry
Songbook: The Wind In The Darkness Howls
Songbook: The Wind Is Blowing Too Hard
Songbook: This Great Wavering Between
Songbook: This Species Of Madness
Songbook: To Travel! To Change Countries
Songbook: With A Smile And Without Haste
Songbook: Autopsychography
Songbook: Christmas
Songbook: God
Songbook: Oblique Rain
Songbook: Ocean (morning)
Songbook: Sleep
Songbook: Some Music
Songbook: The Mummy
Songbook: This
Songbook: Waterfront
Streetcar Stop
Symbols? I'm Sick Of Symbols
That Thing Over There Was More There Than It Is
They Spoke To Me Of People, And Of Humanity
This May Be The Last Day Of My Life
This Morning I Went Out Very Early
This Old Anguish
Time's Passage
To See The Fields And The River
The Tobacco Shop
The Universe Is Not An Idea Of Mine
When Spring Returns
Yes, I Know It's All Quite Natural
Yesterday The Preacher Of Truths (his Truths)
You Who Are A Mystic See A Meaning In All Things
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Portugese --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802136273
• ISBN-13: 978-0802136275
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #579,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Four heads are better than one, March 15, 2001

By 

Scott Spires (Prague, Czech Republic) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fernando Pessoa and Co.: Selected Poems (Paperback)

Just being himself wasn't good enough for Fernando Pessoa, so he divided himself into four distinct, invented personalities ("heteronyms") and wrote poetry from the perspective and in the style of each of them. This in itself is a remarkable feat of literary imagination.

The poetry itself (well, this translation of it) is startling. It's direct and plain-spoken for the most part, even allowing for the personality differences. It may look un-poetic, or even awkward, at first reading. But it sticks. Days after reading, you may find lines and phrases of Pessoa & Co. springing up spontaneously in your head, just because they're so sharp and to the point. Getting to know this multitudinous poet is an invigorating experience. Try it yourself.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one to get., March 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fernando Pessoa & Co.: Selected Poems (Hardcover)

I've been reading and translating Pessoa for several years now, and know his work very well. I have a few minor quibbles with the introductory material, but that's to be expected. Richard Zenith is a terrific translator, and also obviously an excellent poet. I couldn't possibly praise his work too highly. Fernando Pessoa was a great poet; all lovers of poetry owe Richard Zenith tremendous gratitude. Read this book, and then look for anything else RZ has translated. You won't be disappointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Translations, June 10, 1998

By 

Richard Zimler (Portugal) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fernando Pessoa & Co.: Selected Poems (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book of translations, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Pessoa, modern poetry, Portuguese culture or the psychology of writing (Pessoa was a fantastically bizarre person who developed several personalities, each writing in his own style). It also includes an intelligent and intriguing introduction to Pessoa written by the translator, Richard Zenith.