Meet Fernando Pessoa — The Author Who Created Imaginary Writers For His Books

“I begin because I don’t have the strength to think; I finish because I don’t have the courage to quit. This book is my cowardice”.

These are the words of Fernando Pessoa from the Introduction to his book, The Book of Disquiet.

Dear Reader,

We come across some books after they are recommended by a friend, some we see for the first time in a hidden corner of an old book store and some we find after tracing back the origins of a dozen words or so that hit us hard and different.

This book belongs to the last shelf.

I remember reading his words somewhere and I immediately added them to my Field Notes and had right away searched for the book that holds them safe.

And that’s how I came across Fernando Pessoa and his book, which took almost three weeks to make its way to my bookshelf.

Thoughts and Musings

The Book of Disquiet is a collection of Pessoa’s thoughts and scribblings. Even though he had some grand publishing plans, the book came to life only after its author had left his.

Reading a sample of the book, I fell in love with its author’s writings and style and that was one reason why I got it.

And the other reason, the more significant one is that Pessoa’s writings had their own authors.

Heteronyms!

The whole affair of creating characters and making them the authors of your work is intriguing. This isn’t the same as a pen name or a pseudonym.

He called them heteronyms — his alter egos and imaginary writers, and these aren’t just a namesake. He gave them a history, employment, a place to live, and different literary expertise.

One of his heteronyms for example is a book assistant while another is an aristocrat. And he was also so particular about these imaginary authors that when he felt he wrongly assigned a poem to an imaginary author whose skill was only prose, he casually reassigned the piece of work to a more suitable alter ego who is a poet.

Why would he do that? This whole name thing? Is it just one of those childhood plays that prevailed and remained through his adulthood? Or was it because it gave him the freedom to write as long as what’s written was being pinned to somebody else — somebody who was less alive but more creative?

I got to know all this just from the introduction to his book which has left me surprised in the author’s genius and novelty.

The Intriguing Author

The moment I got to know the author, he possessed and wrapped himself with an aura that made me curious to know more.

And very much like his writings and his style, his life hasn’t been typical either. Born in 1888, he dropped out of university to self-study on matters that interested him.

“To see myself as a conscious ship in a South Sea and as a printed page from an old book. How absurd this seems! But everything is absurd, and dreaming least of all”

That’s what he thinks about dreams.

I wasn’t this curious and excited about an author and his book. And something about him and his writing style has deeply resonated. Not that I can write like him. Let me use his own words to explain,

“in me, I have, not verses like his, but the identical substance of the verses that were his”

As of now, the book is resting comfortably in my hands and is a new addition to a collection of many unread books.

And here are the parting words

“Whatever I think is promptly put into words, mixed with images that undo it, cast into rhythms that are something else altogether. From so much self-revising, I’ve destroyed myself. From so much self-thinking, I’m now my thoughts and not I”.

What have I just read!!

I will see you soon again. Take care!

Best,

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