Cmon Kathleen, first Montaigne now Pessoa--get out of my head! ;)
(I don't go more than a few weeks without dipping into either the Essais or The Book of Disquiet)
"The best way of beginning to dream is through books. Novels are very useful for beginners. The first step: learn to surrender totally to your reading and live alongside the characters in a novel. It is a sign of progress to feel that your own family and its griefs are insignificant and repellent compared with those fictional characters." --Bernardo Soares
Sometimes I stay away from a book when I don't read the language. Do you recommend a particular translation of The Book of Disquiet or do you read Portuguese? I have only read some poems. I was surprised to find both Montaigne and Pessoa libraries preserved. Can you think of a better way to be remembered?
i am a true american philistine, i have no other languages :(
for the Book of Disquiet there are both Penguin and New Directions translations, I think the Penguin seems more user-friendly while the ND one seems more comprehensive.
(Pessoa didn't arrange or order the book, so they are both presented somewhat differently. Also, the ND one has some great photos of his original scribblings)
either way, it is a beautiful book to keep by your bedside and dip into now and then, it is just reflections, impressions, and digressions the whole way through...
a preserved library is def a wonderful way to be remembered, but it is also wonderful how both Montaigne and Pessoa were able to synthesize all that reading to create their own unique and magical works.
I took a lot of Latin and that's not helpful in international reading, but glad for the recommendations--I will go for it.
. There is a "Legacy Libraries" project at Library Thing-- that is interesting to look at. https://www.librarything.com/legacylibraries/ If you have your own account (I know it sounds super nerdy, but I do) you can compare your library to the legacy libraries. I started entering my books after a hurricane so I would have a record.
I have slowly added by searching the databases but if you are fancy you can use a scanner. It is actually a lot of fun and when you get a new book you can add it easily. And then you can look at other libraries. Endless rabbit hole for someone with bibliomania. AND FREE.
"Pessoa wrote in notebooks, on loose sheets, on the backs of letters, advertisements and handbills, on stationery from the firms he worked for and from the cafés he frequented, on envelopes, on paper scraps, and in the margins of his own earlier texts. To compound the confusion, he wrote under dozens of names, a practice – or compulsion – that began in his childhood. He called his most important personas ‘heteronyms’, endowing them with their own biographies, physiques, personalities, political views, religious attitudes, and literary pursuits."
😳🤨🤔🤓‼💯♻✌🏻🦸🏻♂️💓😜👻💨
elm
... it hadn't occurred to me that you give them *names* and legends ...
I bet it would be and likely already is for someone in português.
I was just struck by the idea that one could just allow the characters that all already there in one's head (read: my head) and let them materialize in writing without necessarily committing them to being in a fictional story. (Also, without being online as catfish characters, which is a no-go for me.)
Cmon Kathleen, first Montaigne now Pessoa--get out of my head! ;)
(I don't go more than a few weeks without dipping into either the Essais or The Book of Disquiet)
"The best way of beginning to dream is through books. Novels are very useful for beginners. The first step: learn to surrender totally to your reading and live alongside the characters in a novel. It is a sign of progress to feel that your own family and its griefs are insignificant and repellent compared with those fictional characters." --Bernardo Soares
Sometimes I stay away from a book when I don't read the language. Do you recommend a particular translation of The Book of Disquiet or do you read Portuguese? I have only read some poems. I was surprised to find both Montaigne and Pessoa libraries preserved. Can you think of a better way to be remembered?
i am a true american philistine, i have no other languages :(
for the Book of Disquiet there are both Penguin and New Directions translations, I think the Penguin seems more user-friendly while the ND one seems more comprehensive.
(Pessoa didn't arrange or order the book, so they are both presented somewhat differently. Also, the ND one has some great photos of his original scribblings)
either way, it is a beautiful book to keep by your bedside and dip into now and then, it is just reflections, impressions, and digressions the whole way through...
a preserved library is def a wonderful way to be remembered, but it is also wonderful how both Montaigne and Pessoa were able to synthesize all that reading to create their own unique and magical works.
always a pleasure to chat w u!!
I took a lot of Latin and that's not helpful in international reading, but glad for the recommendations--I will go for it.
. There is a "Legacy Libraries" project at Library Thing-- that is interesting to look at. https://www.librarything.com/legacylibraries/ If you have your own account (I know it sounds super nerdy, but I do) you can compare your library to the legacy libraries. I started entering my books after a hurricane so I would have a record.
just took a peek and can tell i'll soon be addicted...thanks for the tip!
BIBLIOMANIACS OF THE WORLD UNITE! ;)
I have slowly added by searching the databases but if you are fancy you can use a scanner. It is actually a lot of fun and when you get a new book you can add it easily. And then you can look at other libraries. Endless rabbit hole for someone with bibliomania. AND FREE.
"Learn to surrender totally to your reading" - How true, and how removed from whatever Orwellian fresh hell a "sensitivity reader" is.
"Pessoa wrote in notebooks, on loose sheets, on the backs of letters, advertisements and handbills, on stationery from the firms he worked for and from the cafés he frequented, on envelopes, on paper scraps, and in the margins of his own earlier texts. To compound the confusion, he wrote under dozens of names, a practice – or compulsion – that began in his childhood. He called his most important personas ‘heteronyms’, endowing them with their own biographies, physiques, personalities, political views, religious attitudes, and literary pursuits."
😳🤨🤔🤓‼💯♻✌🏻🦸🏻♂️💓😜👻💨
elm
... it hadn't occurred to me that you give them *names* and legends ...
I think studying Pessoa could be a life's work. I like that the heteronyms had back stories.
I bet it would be and likely already is for someone in português.
I was just struck by the idea that one could just allow the characters that all already there in one's head (read: my head) and let them materialize in writing without necessarily committing them to being in a fictional story. (Also, without being online as catfish characters, which is a no-go for me.)
elm
was the thought
All of mine did as well. Can talk to you about that off-line. It would take me at least an hour to switch personalities.