Words: Cláudia Pinto
We may be (very) biased when we proclaim the beauty of the Portuguese language, but if you look at the facts, Portugal alone has been and still is a very rich country in terms of literature. Just to give you an idea, there are around 25,000 authors in Portugal registered with the Portuguese Authors’ Society, covering all literary and artistic disciplines.
Material and immaterial heritage often merge when it comes to writing. While the literary universe breathes much of what the classical authors were, the avant-garde spirit of some writers will certainly leave its mark on the history of literature. In this Follow Me, we present three names from the Portuguese literary universe.
Fernando Pessoa
@casafernandopessoa
He is featured in this issue of Portuguese Soul because he is one of the most important Portuguese writers. In order to perpetuate his life and work, Casa Fernando Pessoa was created, “a place of literature at the intersection of memory, literary creation and reading.”
It is located in the very house where the writer lived for the last 15 years of his life. “At Casa Fernando Pessoa, we conserve, preserve and disseminate the legacy of Fernando Pessoa, whose documentary heritage has been declared a National Treasure.” The books that belonged to Fernando Pessoa constitute the largest collection in this area, as they “allow us to understand the creative universe of the writer, revealing his reading side. We regularly collaborate with researchers, following research and new knowledge about Fernando Pessoa’s work.”
Interestingly, Fernando Pessoa saw only a very small part of his extensive work published, which has been published in various books since 1942. He left behind more than 25,000 sheets of text, which are now part of the collection of the National Library of Portugal. According to Casa Fernando Pessoa, “the lengthy process of understanding and organising these papers explains the long time taken to publish Fernando Pessoa’s work.”
João Tordo
@joao_tordo
He is one of the most acclaimed writers of his generation. Born in 1975, João Tordo has won major prizes such as the José Saramago Literary Prize in 2009, the Fernando Namora Prize in 2021, and the GQ Prize. According to José Saramago, “João Tordo has an enormous narrative capacity that is not easy to find.”
In the year he celebrated his 20th anniversary in this career, the author published “O Nome que a Cidade Esqueceu”, inspired by a story he read in the New York Times about a man found dead by his neighbours.
More recently, he was part of the writing team for the Netflix series “Rabo de Peixe”, along with Hugo Gonçalves, Fernando Mamede and Francisco Lopes. Not forgetting, of course, the director Augusto Fraga.
He currently has two dozen books published in Portugal, in genres such as detective stories, novels, and essays. His work has been published in several countries, including France, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Croatia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia.
Lídia Jorge
@lidiajorge500
She is not very active in the digital world. It is easier to find her through her publisher (@domquixoteeditora). Born in the Algarve in 1946, she is a major figure in Portuguese literature.
The theme of women and their loneliness is a recurring theme in the author’s work. Notable works include Notícia da Cidade Silvestre (1984), A Costa dos Murmúrios (1988), O Dia dos Prodigíos (1979), and Vento Assobiando nas Gruas (2002).
In 2022, the author published “Misericórdia”, which received international acclaim. It has won the Médicis Étranger Prize, the Fernando Namora Prize, the Grand Prize for Novels and Novellas of the Portuguese Writers’ Association, and prizes such as the Urbano Tavares Rodrigues, the P.E.N. Portuguese Club and the Best Lusophone Book Published in France. These are some of the most recent awards she has received.
