It's a little hard for me to explain the interest for this particular poet. I think he achieved what most Portuguese poets didn't, because he had the guts for it - he announced himself as the new Camões, for god's sake!
Here is one of the most important poems by him.
Quote:
O poeta é um fingidor.
Finge tão completamente
Que chega a fingir que é dor
A dor que deveras sente.
E os que leem o que escreve,
Na dor lida sentem bem,
Não as duas que ele teve,
Mas só a que eles não têm.
E assim nas calhas de roda
Gira a entreter a razão,
Esse comboio de corda
que se chama o coração.
Finge tão completamente
Que chega a fingir que é dor
A dor que deveras sente.
E os que leem o que escreve,
Na dor lida sentem bem,
Não as duas que ele teve,
Mas só a que eles não têm.
E assim nas calhas de roda
Gira a entreter a razão,
Esse comboio de corda
que se chama o coração.
Here is the translation.
Quote:
The poet is a faker
Who’s so good at his act
He even fakes the pain
Of pain he feels in fact.
And those who read his words
Will feel in what he wrote
Neither of the pains he has
But just the one they don’t.
And so around its track
This thing called the heart winds,
A little clockwork train
To entertain our minds.
Who’s so good at his act
He even fakes the pain
Of pain he feels in fact.
And those who read his words
Will feel in what he wrote
Neither of the pains he has
But just the one they don’t.
And so around its track
This thing called the heart winds,
A little clockwork train
To entertain our minds.
Not my translation...
Here are some links to help you know more about this amazing poet.
Fernando Pessoa - Wikipedia
An essay by Harold Bloom
More about Pessoa, plus translations
The Lonely Crowd
