tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post5130278031444440380..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: The poet is a faker \ Who’s so good at his act - a start on PessoaAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-66926524116143498782012-01-20T15:29:22.101-06:002012-01-20T15:29:22.101-06:00I did know about the astrological charts. Pessoa ...I did know about the astrological charts. Pessoa refers to their results here and there. <br /><br />"Portuguese Sea" is excellent - I think I will write something about the baffling <i>Mensagem</i>, and I should remember to mention "Portuguese Sea."Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-73412798263881238192012-01-20T08:49:58.712-06:002012-01-20T08:49:58.712-06:00Did you know Pessoa even had astrological charts m...Did you know Pessoa even had astrological charts made for Campos, Reis and Caeiro?<br /><br />My favorite of his poems, and probably his most famous in Portugal, is "Mar Português” (Portuguese Sea), which he wrote as himself. Many of us know it by heart, or at least the first two lines. It captures very well the country's psyche, or at least its stereotypes (melancholy, longing, "saudade", fate, pain, adventure).Alex (The Sleepless Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03083761152675156469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-20928997699125107882012-01-19T11:52:14.887-06:002012-01-19T11:52:14.887-06:00Topkapi! I love the idea that all human wisdom ru...<i>Topkapi</i>! I love the idea that all human wisdom runs through a heist movie.<br /><br />Whatever difficulties the language presents, an advantage of (or problem with?) Pessoas's poems is that the <i>conceptual</i> aspect of them seem fairly easy to translate.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-72892362897695833312012-01-19T01:13:42.816-06:002012-01-19T01:13:42.816-06:00What a terrific poem. Irrelevant to any discussion...What a terrific poem. Irrelevant to any discussion about it, but it seems to support my one pet theory, which is that the script for Jules Dassin's film "Topkapi" contains a line or two for every possible occasion:<br /><br />"Like the old faith healer of Deal who said, 'Although pain isn't real, when I sit on a pin and it punctures my skin, I dislike what I fancy I feel.' I'm Cedric Page. How nice of you to come, Walter, and to bring Miss Lipp."<br /><br />But seriously, fascinating site, those 16 translations. And I'm eager to see how long it takes you to be exhausted by Pessoa.seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-91700403002923937112012-01-18T22:38:00.721-06:002012-01-18T22:38:00.721-06:00Which Pessoa? All of them. No, just a few - he ...Which Pessoa? All of them. No, just a few - he used so many different names for different purposes. Richard Zenith's title for his book is a good one: <i>Pessoa & Co.</i>. It's also a reference to the title of Eça de Queiros novel!<br /><br />So Reis, for example - I hope do get to my idea of why I call him a minor poet, and if I am really ambitious I will argue that he is <i>deliberately</i> minor. I mean, as a distinct poet, I think he's minor. As a creation of Pessoa, he is ingenious.<br /><br />Miguel, I have not read the <i>Ricardo Reis</i> novel, nor any other Saramago book, which I always knew was an omission, and which looks increasingly like a huge omission.<br /><br />So I hope to read <i>Ricardo Reis</i> later this spring, if nothing else, after I have absorbed Pessoa some more.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-40120153262575551682012-01-18T21:12:32.936-06:002012-01-18T21:12:32.936-06:00"My plan is to keep writing about Pessoa unti..."My plan is to keep writing about Pessoa until he exhausts me." Good plan, especially for those of us who are your readers, who only have to muster reading time and stamina. Obrigado! However, does this mean that Reis and the rest of the Pessoa-poets won't get written about? Which Pessoa do you mean?!?Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-43212253125932396352012-01-18T18:27:52.617-06:002012-01-18T18:27:52.617-06:00Have you read José Saramago's The Year of the ...Have you read José Saramago's <i>The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis?</i> It's a great novel.Miguelhttp://storberose.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-75005900506232911482012-01-18T18:26:53.943-06:002012-01-18T18:26:53.943-06:00Aw, why do you consider Ricardo Reis a minor poet?...Aw, why do you consider Ricardo Reis a minor poet?Miguelhttp://storberose.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-69054094303716997222012-01-18T17:10:15.652-06:002012-01-18T17:10:15.652-06:00Claudia - no, no idea. Thanks for the pointer. F...Claudia - no, no idea. Thanks for the pointer. Fascinating.<br /><br />I knew this was a famous poem for Pessoa. It compresses a lot of relevant information about what he is doing, or might be doing.<br /><br />I feel obooki's version is better, too. And I agree about the line in the 3rd verse. It has another jarring problem, too - it somehow suggests that "winds" should be a noun. I don't know what "heart winds" are, but poets come up with things like that. Oh, you mean "winds a watch," not gusts.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-83251310395091280702012-01-18T13:21:25.011-06:002012-01-18T13:21:25.011-06:00I've read the first verse of that poem before,...I've read the first verse of that poem before, because it's the epigraph of some novel, and it's always irritated me slightly because it's slightly missing the rhythm. I feel it would be better:<br /><br />The poet is a faker<br />So good at his act<br />He even fakes the pain<br />Of the pain he feels in fact.<br /><br />The second line of the third verse is also completely wrong in the sense - the stress is all wrong.<br /><br />Translations of poetry irritate me - but more especially translations of poetry within novels, which are universally dreadful.obookihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03885121629202810216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-19174051472104008672012-01-18T12:15:28.159-06:002012-01-18T12:15:28.159-06:00Have you seen this neat website where you can comp...Have you seen this neat website where you can compare 16 translations of the poem you quote?<br />http://www.disquiet.com/thirteen.htmlclaudiahttp://claudia.weblog.com.ptnoreply@blogger.com