Notebooks, Non-Books and Quasi-Books

Notebooks,  Non-­‐‑Books  and  Quasi-­‐‑Books     Bartholomew Ryan*   PESSOA,   Fernando   (2012).   Philosophical   Essays:   A   Critical   Edition.   Edited   by   Nuno   Ribeiro.   Publisher:  New  York:  First  Contra  Mundum  Press,  2012.     PESSOA,  Fernando  (2014).  The  Transformation  Book.  Edited  by  Nuno  Ribeiro  and  Cláudia  Souza.   Publisher:  New  York:  First  Contra  Mundum  Press,  2014.       I  was  a  poet  animated  by  philosophy,     not  a  philosopher  with  poetic  faculties.   Fernando  Pessoa     Over   the   last   decade   in   Portugal,   at   least   one   book   is   published   each   year   that   is   attributed   to   Fernando   Pessoa,   whether   it   is   an   unfinished   project,   notes,   letters,  reflections,  fragments,  or  new  alternative  editions.  This  is  not  the  case  at  all   in  the  Anglophone  publishing  world,  but  knowledge  of  Fernando  Pessoa  is  slowly   trickling   out,   which   is   mostly   due   to   the   success   of   the   excellent   translations   into   English  of  Livro  do  Desassossego  by  Margaret  Jull  Costa  (with  Serpent’s  Tail  in  1991)   and   by   Richard   Zenith   (published   by   Penguin   in   2001).   Now,   finally,   there   is   the   opportunity   to   publish   more   writings   of   Pessoa   in   the   English   language,   a   language  of  course  that  was  much  loved  by  the  Portuguese  author.     Two  books  attributed  to  Pessoa  have  been  published  recently  –  Philosophical   Essays   (2012)   and   The   Transformation   Book   (2012)   –   which   are   curious   additions   to   the   international   Pessoa   publications   because,   not   only   are   they   fragments   of   a   young   poet   thinking   through   philosophy,   but   that   they   are   firstly,   for   the   most   part,   written   in   English   by   the   author.   Language   seems   to   be   key   here   as   these   writings   emerge   when   Pessoa   is   only   recently   back   from   English-­‐‑speaking   South   Africa   with   the   ambition   of   writing   poetry   only   in   English.   Pessoa   returned   to   Portugal  in  1905  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  these  essays  and  fragments  from  both   books   are   all   written   before   1914.   Even   though   Pessoa   never   left   Portugal   again   and   only   very   occasionally   stepped   outside   Lisbon   once   he   returned,   he   remains   multilingual1   and   the   cosmopolitan   man,   while   at   the   same   time   being   proudly   Portuguese.  His  mother  spoke  French  fluently;  he  was  educated  in  English  and  his   favourite  writers  were  English;  and  Portuguese  was  his  native  language  where  his   genius   would   be   realised.   If,   to   paraphrase   Bernardo   Soares,   one’s   homeland   is   one’s  language  (“Minha  pátria  é  a  língua  portuguesa”),  then  Pessoa  was  homeless                                                                                                                   *  Universidade  Nova  de  Lisboa.    To  read  the  poems  written  in  French  by  Pessoa,  see  Poèmes  français  (2014),  edited  by  P.  Ferrari.   1 Ryan Notebooks, Non-Books and Quasi-Books and  an  exile  at  least  until  1914,  the  year  of  the  “dia  triunfal”2  when  he  came  home   to  his  language,  and  his  three  most  famous  heteronyms  (Alberto  Caeiro,  Álvaro  de   Campos   and   Ricardo   Reis)   exploded   unto   the   literary   scene.   The   so-­‐‑called   The   Transformation  Book  remains  a  homeless  work  when  we  think  of  Bernardo  Soares’   comment,  and  when  the  editors  Nuno  Ribeiro  and  Cláudia  Souza  give  the  title  in   the  three  languages  of  English,  French  and  Portuguese  in  the  inside  pages.     So   what   kind   of   books   are   these?   And   what   do   they   add   to   the   Pessoa   authorship?  Whereas  The  Book  of  Disquiet  has  been  called  a  “non-­‐‑book”  [não-­‐‑livro]   by  Eduardo  Lourenço  (in  the  essay  “O  Livro  do  Desassossego,  texto  suicida?)  and  an   “anti-­‐‑book”   [anti-­‐‑livro]   by   Richard   Zenith   (in   his   introduction   to   the   book),   these   two  new  publications  are,  in  an  important  sense,  not  books  at  all  but  rather  works   in  progress,  and  ultimately  unfinished  and  abandoned  projects.  Let  us  look  at  the   first  of  these  two  new  publications.       Philosophical  Essays:  A  Critical  Edition     The   relationship   between   European   philosophy   and   the   poetic   thinking   of   Pessoa   is   still   an   overlooked   aspect   and   there   is   much   to   praise   in   publishing   a   book   on   Pessoa’s   philosophical   writings.   Despite   the   publication   of   Textos   Filosóficos  by  António  Pina  Coelho  in  1968,  and  recently  in  2012  Poesía,  ontología  y   tragedia   en   Fernando   Pessoa   by   Pablo   Javier   Pérez   López,   which   contains   transcriptions   of   previously   unpublished   philosophical   fragments,   Pessoa’s   philosophical   writings   are   almost   a   completely   unexplored   aspect   of   Pessoa’s   authorship   at   least   in   the   English-­‐‑speaking   world.   Philosophical   Essays   focuses   on   Pessoa’s   earlier   unfinished   philosophical   essays   written   in   English,   either   under   the   names   of   two   early,   undeveloped   heteronyms   or   “pre-­‐‑heteronyms”   –   as   Alexander  Search  and  Charles  Robert  Anon  are  called  in  the  introduction  –,  or  they   are  left  unsigned.  This  term  “pre-­‐‑heteronym,”  it  is  important  to  note,  was  one  that   was  never  used  by  Pessoa.  The  book  is  divided  into  two  parts:  the  first  presenting   ten  “philosophical  essays”;  and  the  second  part  goes  under  the  title  of  “Addenda,”   which   has   four   sections   that   are   notes   and   fragments   to   the   “essays”   and   some   extra  philosophical  fragments.  These  two  parts  are  preceded  by  an  introduction  by   the   editor,   and   followed   by   an   approving   afterword   by   Portuguese   philosopher   Paulo  Borges,  and  ends  with  a  very  slim  bibliography  selected  by  the  editor.  There   are   interesting   inserts   and   sentences   throughout   the   collection,   especially   in   the   first   two   “essays”   which   take   up   over   half   of   the   first   part,   “On   the   Nature   and   Meaning  of  Rationalism”  and  “On  Free-­‐‑Will”;  and  also  the  fragmented  essays  “On                                                                                                                     See   the   famous   letter   from   Pessoa   to   Adolfo   Casais   Monteiro,   when,   referring   to   the   8th   March   1914,  he  expresses  that  “It  was  the  triumphal  day  of  my  life,  and  I  can  never  have  another  one  like  it   [Foi   o   dia   triumphal   da   minha   vida,   e   nunca   poderei   ter   outro   assim]”.   Included   in   Eu   Sou   Uma   Antologia:  136  autores  fictícios  (2013:  646).   2 Pessoa Plural: 7 (P./Spring 2015) 319 Ryan Notebooks, Non-Books and Quasi-Books Sensation,”   “On   Heraclitus,”   and   Pessoa’s   comments   on   Aquinas   and   Pascal,   which   cannot   at   all   be   called   essays   as   such.   Many   of   the   titles   and   inserts   hold   clues   to   the   trajectory   of   the   later   Pessoa   in   his   lifelong   struggle   and   fascination   with   systems   of   belief   and   religions,   the   problem   of   the   “I,”   and   psychology   of   interior  travel.     The   editor   is   correct   in   pointing   out   in   the   introduction   that   Pessoa   was   immersed   in   philosophy   in   his   early   period   in   Lisbon,   as   he   was   attending   philosophy   classes   at   the   University   of   Lisbon   in   1906   and   1907   at   the   same   time   these   “philosophical   essays”   were   written.   However,   I   put   the   title   here   in   quotation   marks   as   it   can   be   misleading   for   philosophers   approaching   this   book   without  much  knowledge  of  Pessoa,  as  these  “philosophical  essays”  are  not  really   essays   as   such,   because   none   of   them   are   complete,   and   they   remain   incoherent   and   fragmented.   A   book,   for   example,   like   Kierkegaard’s   Philosophical   Fragments   (or   Philosophical   Crumbs   to   be   exact,   as   the   word   is   Smuler   in   Danish)   from   1844,   which  as  an  example  of  poetic  philosophizing,  is  a  far  more  coherent  book  than  the   misleading  volume  and  title  here  of  Philosophical  Essays,  but  of  course  Kierkegaard   was  in  control  of  his  own  posthumous  identity  in  publishing  his  work  during  his   lifetime  and  under  his  own  terms,  and  the  title  he  gave  is  not  without  irony.  Also,   it   is   very   important   to   remember   that   these   fragments   were   written   by   Pessoa   when  he  was  only  18  and  19  years  of  age,  when  he  was  still  unsure  of  his  vocation.   And   unlike   the   major   unfinished   work   of   Livro   do   Desassossego,   this   project   was   abandoned   early   on   and   has   no   original   ideas   or   insights   other   than   thinking   through  some  of  the  philosophers  referred  to  throughout  the  fragments  and  notes,   most   especially   Kant   and   Schopenhauer,   with   hints   of   Plato,   Spinoza   and   Nietzsche.  It  is  important  to  know  all  this  before  dipping  into  this  collection.     Philosophical  Essays  is  also  referred  to  as  a  “critical  edition”  but  it  is  far  from   complete,  there  are  gaps  in  the  description  and  use  of  materials,  there  is  no  index   included  in  the  book,  and  the  inclusion  of  some  fragments  and  exclusion  of  others   in  the  Addenda  is  decided  at  the  editor’s  discretion.  One  might  wonder  why,  for   example,   Pessoa’s   remarks   in   English   on   infinity,   his   comments   on   Spinoza,   or   Alexander   Search’s   passage   on   the   “Internal   Nature   of   the   Faculties”   are   not   included  in  the  Addenda,  which  often  hold  more  clues  to  the  workings  of  Pessoa   and  which  also  shed  light  on  his  later,  more  celebrated  writings.  These  unfinished   philosophical   “essays”   are,   nonetheless,   a   valuable   insight   into   Pessoa   as   a   very   young  man  working  through  difficult  European  philosophers  on  the  threshold  of   becoming   an   adult   and   mature   writer.   Ribeiro   states   in   his   introduction   that   “Coelho  presents  the  various  Textos  Filosóficos  as  if  they  were  loose  sheets,  lacking   any   discernible   connection   among   themselves.”   However,   I   cannot   see   how   this   publication   will   evoke   more   interest   in   Pessoa’s   philosophical   writings   than   Coelho’s  groundbreaking  Textos  Filosóficos  from  1968.       Pessoa Plural: 7 (P./Spring 2015) 320 Ryan Notebooks, Non-Books and Quasi-Books The  Transformation  Book,  or  Book  of  Tasks     The   second   book   published   is   even   more   eccentric   and   controversial,   even   by   Pessoa   standards,   in   calling   it   an   actual   book.   Pessoa’s   project   follows   in   the   tradition  of  the  notebooks  of  alchemy,  secret  societies  and  mystical  traditions  with   Pessoa’s   Faustian   figure   of   Alexander   Search   at   the   helm.   The   editors   state   at   the   beginning  of  the  introduction  that  the  book  “is  a  transcription  and  collocation  of  a   series  of  fragments  that  were  never  published  during  Pessoa’s  lifetime”  and  that  it   is  “in  many  senses,  a  plural  book.”  But  this  “book”  was  never  conceived  as  a  book   at  all.  It  is  what  its  subtitle  says,  a  book  of  tasks.  This  is  a  notebook  of  tasks.  In  fact,   it   is   a   small   notebook   that   Pessoa   made   by   hand,   an   assignment   book.   As   said   before,  Livro  do  Desassossego  is  not  a  proper  book  per  se,  but  at  least  Pessoa  never   fully  gave  up  on  this  project,  and  after  a  silence  of  nearly  ten  years  returned  to  this   open-­‐‑ended  book,  which  became  something  most  dear  to  him  during  the  last  years   of   his   life.   The   Transformation   Book   was   an   idea   that   was   abandoned   more   than   twenty  years  before  his  death.  To  make  things  even  more  complicated,  it  has  two   titles   in   a   way   as   Transformation   Book   and   Book   of   Tasks,   and   is   divided   into   three   languages   (English,   French,   and   Portuguese),   which   the   editors,   understandably,   leave  as  they  are,  rather  than  attempt  to  translate  into  one  language.  This  makes  for   a  curious  work  and  is  perhaps  only  really  of  interest  to  the  die-­‐‑hard  Pessoa  reader.   That   said,   there   are   still   many   treats   to   be   found   inside   these   pages.   The   cover   design  itself  is  intriguing  and  mischievous,  and  the  artist  Alessandro  Segalini  does   a  wonderful  job  in  capturing  this  eccentric,  unfinished  and  unrealised  project  that   the   two   editors   bravely   bring   together   into   a   kind   of   book.   And   to   complete   the   mad  yet  alluring  farce  of  this  project,  the  writing  is  attributed  not  to  Pessoa  or  to   his   heteronyms   or   semi-­‐‑heteronyms,   but   rather,   according   to   the   editors,   to   his   “pre-­‐‑heteronyms”  once  again.  The  four  so-­‐‑called  “pre-­‐‑heteronyms”  are  Alexander   Search,  Pantaleão,  Jean  Seul  de  Méluret,  and  Charles  James  Search.     This   publication   can   also   be   a   misleading   entry   point   to   anyone   coming   to   Pessoa   for   the   first   time,   but   perhaps   Pessoa   would   have   enjoyed   the   confusion.   Like  Philosophical  Essays,  this  book  has  no  index,  and  is  divided  into  two  parts:  the   first   being   the   outlined   scatterings   of   the   unrealised   Transformation   Book;   and   the   second  part  coming  under  the  title  “Addenda,”  again  with  fragments  and  notes  to   various   aspects   of   part   one.   There   is   a   case   of   repetition   here   as   the   essay   on   Rationalism  is  included  in  this  book  also,  which  is  explained  by  the  editors  in  their   introduction.   But   there   are   some   fascinating   entries   published   for   the   first   time   with   an   English   language   publisher   such   as   the   chapter   “The   Mental   Disorder   of   Jesus,”3   fragments   of   translations   of   classic   Portuguese   writers   such   as   Camões,   Quental  and  Junqueiro  by  Charles  James  Search,  and  the  fairytale-­‐‑like  collection  of                                                                                                                    “The  Mental  Disorder  of  Jesus”  was  only  published  for  the  first  time  anywhere  in  2006  in  Escritos   sobre  Génio  e  Loucura,  edited  by  Jerónimo  Pizarro.   3 Pessoa Plural: 7 (P./Spring 2015) 321 Ryan Notebooks, Non-Books and Quasi-Books whimsical   poems   by   Alexander   Search   under   the   title   “Delirium.”This   is   the   first   time   that   so   many   poems   of   Alexander   Search   have   been   published   by   an   Anglophone   publisher,   including   the   fine   poems   “A   Temple,”   “On   the   Road,”   Soul-­‐‑Symbols,”  “Song  of  the  Leper,”  “Doubt,”  and  “The  Story  of  Solomon  Waste.”   Perhaps  this  publication  might  encourage  someone  to  publish  the  complete  poems   of  Fernando  Pessoa  that  he  wrote  in  English  in  an  international  edition.     The   editors   declare   in   the   introduction   that   this   book   “marks   one   of   the   fundamental   stages   in   Pessoa’s   elaboration   of   a   new   conception   of   literary   space,   one  that  he  came  to  express  as  a  ‘drama  in  people’.”  This  is  true  and  this  collection   is   an   indication   of   the   inner   workings   of   Pessoa’s   workshop   in   making   his   way   towards   his   more   developed   and   successful   heteronymic   authorship   from   1914   onwards.  In  essence  then,  this  abandoned  and  never  realised  Transformation  Book  is   a   work   of   transition   from   the   teenage   boy   who   returns   to   Portugal   from   South   Africa  to  the  Portuguese  modernist  poet  par  excellence  who  actually  only  manages   to   articulate   his   literary   art   as   a   “drama-­‐‑in-­‐‑people”   in   1928,   in   his   “Tábua   Bibliográfica,”  published  in  the  Coimbra  based  magazine  Presença.   In  conclusion,  while  there  are  some  pearls  to  be  found  in  these  two  new  and   all   so   rare   publications   of   some   of   the   writings   from   Fernando   Pessoa   in   the   English   language,   one   hopes   that   it   will   open   up   rather   than   deter   others   from   publishing  more  of  Pessoa’s  more  original  philosophically  inclined  writings  that  he   did  as  an  adult  at  the  height  of  his  powers.  Examples  of  these  could  be  from  some   of   Campos’   writings   such   “Ambiente”   [Environment],   “O   Que   é   a   Metafisica?”   [What   is   Metaphysics?],“   Apontamentos   para   uma   Estética   Não-­‐‑Aristotélica”   [Points   on   a   Non-­‐‑Aristotelian   Aesthetics],   and   the   brilliant   “Notas   para   a   recordação  do  meu  mestre  Caeiro”  [Notes  in  Memory  of  my  Master  Caeiro].  These   “Notas”   by   Campos   have   never   been   published   with   all   its   fragments   in   the   English  language,  and  within  them  contain  not  only  some  of  the  best  psychological   insights   into   Pessoa   and   his   art   but   also   into   his   own   diversified   and   playful   philosophical  thinking.  There  are  also  the  writings  on  neo-­‐‑paganism  and  the  return   of   the   gods   from   Antonio   Mora,   Ricardo   Reis   and   Fernando   Pessoa,   and   the   overlooked  essay  “Erostratus”  to  think  about  and  bring  to  light.  Perhaps  the  most   startling   philosophy   is   ultimately   expressed   implicitly   in   the   poetry   itself   from   Pessoa,  Campos,  Caeiro  and  Reis,  the  one  act  static  play  O  Marinheiro,  some  of  the   prose   in   the   detective   stories   and   short   story   O   Banqueiro   Anarquista,   and   in   the   profound   insights   and   visionary   passages   from   the   Livro   do   Desassossego   –   all   of   which  also  await  future  exploration  and  rediscovery.   Pessoa Plural: 7 (P./Spring 2015) 322