Fernando Pessoa

Bartholomew Ryan

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English

Reaktion Books
01 February 2025

Biography: literary

Series: Critical Lives

As a young man Fernando Pessoa wrote 'be plural like the universe'. Staying true to this, he went on to invent over 100 fictional alter-egos, which he called heteronyms.

This philosophical biography navigates Pessoa's early days in Lisbon and South Africa, reveals a philosopher-poet and pioneer of Portuguese modernism, and delves into the birth of Pessoa's heteronymic universe. Bartholomew Ryan describes Pessoa's writings on evolving radical politics, his ventures into esoteric realms, and his expertise in astrology.

The book unravels Pessoa's real and imaginary relationships, and explores his unfinished prose masterpiece, The Book of Disquiet. Pessoa's revolutionary concepts of identity and self-multiplicity have become more widely accessible and relatable today due to their increasing occurrence in modern society. This is a compelling, timely exploration of Pessoa's profound, innovative ideas.

'More than presenting a concise life story of Portugal's most fascinating writer of recent centuries, Bartholomew Ryan draws illuminating connections between the self-described 'poet animated by philosophy' and thinkers as diverse as Lenin, Kierkegaard, Gandhi, Nietzsche, Yeats, Eliot, Heidegger, Magris, Joyce and Clarice Lispector. It's a joyous ride through a wild world of ideas, literary experiments and multiple selves.' -Richard Zenith, author of Pessoa: An Experimental Life

By: Bartholomew Ryan
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 200mm, Width: 130mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781789149340
ISBN 10: 1789149347
Series: Critical Lives
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 01 February 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Bartholomew Ryan is a philosopher, musician, and researcher based at IFILNOVA, New University of Lisbon. His books include the coedited Fernando Pessoa and Philosophy: Countless Lives Inhabit Us.

Reviews for Fernando Pessoa

"""Comprehensive in its cultural reach, penetrating yet always lucid, this critical study unriddles the enigma of Pessoa and gently guides us through his ""multifaceted writing universe"". The illustrations place Pessoa in a local context, but more importantly Bartholomew Ryan establishes him, as he deserves, in a modernist priesthood beside James Joyce and T. S. Eliot.""--Peter Conrad, author of 'Modern Times, Modern Places: Life and Art in the 20th Century' ""More than presenting a concise life story of Portugal's most fascinating writer of recent centuries, Bartholomew Ryan draws illuminating connections between the self-described ""poet animated by philosophy"" and thinkers as diverse as Lenin, Kierkegaard, Gandhi, Nietzsche, Yeats, Eliot, Heidegger, Magris, Joyce and Clarice Lispector. It's a joyous ride through a wild world of ideas, literary experiments and multiple selves.""--Richard Zenith, author of 'Pessoa: An Experimental Life'"