Hello everybody and welcome back to another edition of Global History Hub! I'll be your host, Mr. Nations, your tour guide to this massive world we all call home! On today's edition of Historical Figure Wednesday, we'll be taking a look at the life and accomplishments of Fernando Pessoa, a Portuguese poet. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dove straight into it.
Pessoa was born un June 13th, 1888 in Lisbon, Portugal. He was barely five years old when his father died and his mother remarried about a year and a half later. Pessoa attended an English school in Durban, where he remained with his family until he was seventeen years old. He began studying at the University of Lisbon but dropped out after only eight months.
Pessoa continued to bounce around different jobs for several years, earning his keep by translating, writing avant-garde reviews, and drafting business letters in both English and French. Only in 1914 did he really begin his career in poetry. The majority of Pessoa's poems ended up in some form of literary journal or magazine. In 1918, he published his first collection of English poems, titled Antinous, followed by Sonnets, and later English Poems. He only released a single book of Portuguese poems, called Mensagem.
It wouldn't be until much later, after Pessoa's death, that his work would amass a huge readership around the world. He passed away due to liver cirrhosis.
Fun Facts:
- Pessoa had many alter egos, which he called heteronyms.
- These strange alter egos were very popular for writers during this time period.
- He took these alter egos very seriously too, going so far as to create entire identities for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please be respectful. Think to yourself, "Would I say this to a child?"