Stuart Kelly

The poet with many lives

Fernando Pessoa adopted scores of fictional personas – but who was the real man?

Fernando Pessoa — aloof, elitist and obsessive for most of his life. Credit: Bridgeman Images 
issue 14 August 2021

This is an ingenious and infuriating book about an ingenious and infuriating writer. I first encountered Fernando Pessoa in the wonderful and lamented Penguin International Poets series, and what intrigued me was that he was more than one person. There was his poetry, but also sections attributed to his heteronyms, or imaginary alter egos.

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Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

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