Message (Pocket Edition)

Mensagem is the most important work by one of the great Portuguese writers, in a paperback edition.

Considered one of the greatest Portuguese poets, Fernando Pessoa published only one book in Portuguese: *Message *, in 1934, a year before his death. The poems in this book contain numerous references to kings and queens; infantes, regents, princes, and navigators; records of battles and revolutions; but there is no plot, and in this sense, the notes accompanying the text shed much light on these historical passages. The first part of the book mentions the origins of Portugal and the beginning of its maritime expansion. The second part is a clear allusion to the heyday of great voyages and the vastness of the sea. And the third focuses on the figure of King Sebastian and covers the long period of decline that unfolded after his death.

Developed throughout the poet's life, Mensagem possesses a distinctly universal dimension, centered on the driving idea of the human condition as an essential virtuality or unlimited potentiality. This paperback edition includes an Introduction, Notes, and Bibliography by Carlos Felipe Moisés, PhD in Portuguese Literature from the University of São Paulo and a specialist in Fernando Pessoa.

“ Message is undoubtedly about Portugal, its soul and its history, but it is also about the human condition in general, addressing any reader, beyond narrow nationalisms.” - Carlos Felipe Moisés, excerpt from the Introduction