Fernando Pessoa & Co.: Selected Poems

Rating:
Summary: This is the one to get.
Review: I've been reading and translating Pessoa for several years now, and know his work very well. I have a few minor quibbles with the introductory material, but that's to be expected. Richard Zenith is a terrific translator, and also obviously an excellent poet. I couldn't possibly praise his work too highly. Fernando Pessoa was a great poet; all lovers of poetry owe Richard Zenith tremendous gratitude. Read this book, and then look for anything else RZ has translated. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: From a Portuguease reader
Review: I've read many of Pessoa's works and studied him at school. I remenber that after studying some very weel-know pets we reached Pessoa. I also remenber and i'll possibly never forget that after reading some of his poems i just exclaimed out loud "Ei, este gajo é um genio"-"ohh, this guy's a genious".
I write poetry for some years now and i'm always very critic about it. But Pessoa just seems to be ahead of our own critic, sometimes wondering in our own mind, How does he do that !?
Someone hear in Amazon was surprised by the reviews posted here and asked "Is he really that good, or is the translation not so good" Then he just asked if some portuguease writer could clarify it. Well i am portuguease and i tell you he is really that good or even better.
I try the best i can to be objective in my reviews but when we talk about Pessoa we talk about emotions and feelings.
About coloquial language, at least the portuguese original texts are not, mostly if you compare them to other famous portuguese poets like Camoes or Bocage.
As to Caeiro's poetry, it is simply his need to see things in a different perpective.
Pessoa is that kind of author that doesn't carries his heart at his mouth and his cause at his pen, this is a very mental experience, a reflexion on basic feelings and senses, such a deep vision on subjectivism that just a man that baunces on the thin line of genious and madness would achieve.
It astonishes...

Rating:
Summary: If you have never read anything else by Fernando Pessoa.....
Review: This is an excellent book for people who are just discovering the richness of Pessoa's work. Although unknown to many readers prose and poetry of Pessoa deserve the priority on every poetry lover's bookshelf. He will amaze you, his heteronyms will confuse your mind and at the end you'll ask yourself... "How come I've never been introduced to this marvelous writer..to this poet whose honesty is sometimes schocking and to this solitary being ..

And you will think and think...yes..he does that well..for days after reading Pessoa's poems you'll remember and tell the tales. :) Happy reading!!