In the footsteps of Pessoa and Saramago
In the footsteps of Pessoa and Saramago
… difficult not to be
Quotes of the week
Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.
My past is everything I failed to be.
There are ships sailing to many ports, but not a single one goes where life is not painful.
I'd woken up early, and I took a long time getting ready to exist.
Fernando Pessoa
Each day is a little bit of history.
A journey never ends. ...
Chaos is merely order waiting to be deciphered.
In a king, modesty would be a sign of weakness.
A woman is essentially a vessel made to be filled.
Reading is probably another way of being in a place.
José Saramago
Hello,
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We spent the holiday in Lisbon, enjoying the city in a leisurely pace. A lot of things to see, but we mostly walked around the pebbled streets and squares, taking in the beauty of old houses, and a view to the sea. Staying in a small Guest house in the centre of the old city we were close by to everything by foot. In the next newsletter I will tell you more of what we saw. However, I wanted to start from the beginning and a wonderful thing that happened to a book nerd like myself.
Café Martinho da Arcada - Fundado 1782
As we arrived in Lisbon we walked out of our hotel to get a feeling for our surroundings, and to find somewhere to eat. We did not find anything to our immediate liking so in the end we let someone drag us into an old restaurant at the corner of the Praca do Comércio, down by the sea. Turned out to be a marvellous, old restaurang with dark wood from the floor, half way up the wall, painted walls above, light yellow like they did it in the old days. Table with white table clothes, which made us feel going back in time. We got a small table in an alcove, ordered fish and a bottle of vinho verde and sat down to enjoy.
We started talking to the waiter who told us that the restaurant was the favourite place for author Fernando Pessoa. He came more or less every day, and they even keep his table free to this day. It is decorated with an espresso cup, a glass of water and a bowl for sugar. There is also a number of his books on the table. As you see from the picture I was allowed to sit down in his place.
Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa (1888-1935) a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher; one of the most significant literary figures of the last century, and considered one of the greatest poets in Portuguese. Very prolific writer as can be imagined when you see all his professions above. I had his book The Book of Disquiet, but let go of it after just a few pages, it seemed far more than I could grasp. Maybe I should try another of his books, or poetry for that matter, now that we have shared the same seat.
Back at our table again, the waiter pointed to a photo on the wall behind me, and said, there is another Portuguese writer who used to come here. He received the Nobel Prize in literature, and he used to sit here. I realised that I had taken the seat of José Saramago. Even more funny since I brought his book The History of the Siege of Lisbon with me. I have been trying to read that one for a long time, but it is not an easy book either. However, having shared his seat, I just have to finish it.
José de Sousa Saramago (1922-2010) won the Nobel Prize in 1998 for his ”parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony with which he continually enables us once again to apprehend an elusory reality.” Maybe a reason I find it difficult.
Walking around Lisbon the following days we found traces from places where Pessoa walked and lived; we bought a lottery at his favourite tobacco shop ”Boa Hora” and saw his tomb in the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos.
Two of the most famous Portugues authors and I ran into them in one day. There are small things in life that can make you happy.
I leave you here in the world of books and see you next week. I wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR and all the best for 2023.
Just to let you know that I have finally created a new website for my book blog The Content Reader (new address is: https://www.thecontentreader.com or click link). Please visit and check it out. Happy to receive comments on the layout.