“Invejo — mas não sei se invejo — aqueles de quem se pode escrever uma biografia, ou que podem escrever a própria. Nestas impressões sem nexo, nem desejo de nexo, narro indiferentemente a minha autobiografia sem factos, a minha história sem vida. São as minhas Confissões, e, se nelas nada digo, é que nada tenho que dizer.”
— Fernando Pessoa
“I envy — but I’m not sure that I envy — those for whom a biography could be written, or who could write their own. In these random impressions, and with no desire to be other than random, I indifferently narrate my factless autobiography, my lifeless history. These are my Confessions, and if in them I say nothing, it’s because I have nothing to say.” — translated by Richard Zenith
or
“I envy — though I’m not sure sure if envy is the right word — those people about whom one could write a biography, or who could write their autobiography. Through these deliberately unconnected impressions I am the indifferent narrator of my autobiography without events, of my history without a life. These are my Confessions and I say nothing in them it’s because I have nothing to say.” — translated by Margaret Jull Costa
When Fernando Pessoa died in Lisbon in 1935 he had published four books. More interesting is maybe what he left behind: a large trunk containing 25,000 unpublished pages under dozens of pen names (or, in Pessoa-speak, “heterónimos”). These pages would form the basis of many of his posthumously published works, including the sprawling "factless autobiography" of The Book of Disquiet.
It’s from that volume that my new show Disquiet Radio takes its name. In this personal-reading-project-turned-shared-reading-experience, we’ll take a look at Pessoa’s major works, read from as many of his heteronyms as possible, and discuss the challenges and rewards of translation.
The genesis of this project is that I’ve always wanted to read more Pessoa, and thought it’d be fun to do it in a way that is both structured and collective. The actual genesis of this project might be when I went on a tour of the Casa Fernando Pessoa two years ago and felt so overwhelmed I started to cry and felt a compulsion to turn that maudlin outburst into something tangible.
This show will live on Radio Free Brooklyn, a freeform internet community radio station that I first came across through my brilliant friend Alijah. Community radio has been incredibly meaningful to me over the last decade of my life, from the inimitable music education and vibrant community I found at WCWM and Vinyl Tap to my late weekend night shifts hosting The Graveyard on KHOL playing Vashti Bunyan and Broadcast for anyone who’d listen :) I am so excited to kick off this new show and see what shape it takes as it evolves!
When does it start?
The first episode will air live on Tuesday, February 6th at 4 p.m. ET.
How can I listen?
Thank you for asking. There are two ways:
You can listen live every Tuesday from 4-5 p.m. ET at this link.
You can listen to the archived recorded episodes a week after they air on the Disquiet Radio page.
What’s the vibe?
Each week will revolve around a particular Pessoa or Pessoa-adjacent text. I’ll kick things off with a short reading, and then spend the rest of the hour talking about it and whatever else comes to mind.
In the spirit of freeform radio, I will also start each episode by playing a song :) I’ll also add the songs here:
Can I be a guest?
If you want to talk about anything related to Fernando Pessoa, poetry, modernism, literary translation, or Portuguese-language literature, I would love to have you join me in the studio or call in! If you’re interested in being a guest or if there’s anything else you’d like to share with me (articles, jokes, hate mail) you can email leonor@radiofreebrooklyn.org or send me a message @disquietradio on Twitter.
What will you read?
This list is subject to change! That being said, over the next year on the radio I am planning to read the books listed below. I will start with Zenith’s Pessoa!
Pessoa by Richard Zenith
The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa (tr. by Richard Zenith)
The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa (tr. by Margaret Jull Costa)
The Complete Works of Álvaro de Campos by Fernando Pessoa (tr. by Margaret Jull Costa and Patricio Ferrari)
The Complete Works of Alberto Caeiro by Fernando Pessoa (tr. by Margaret Jull Costa and Patricio Ferrari)
The Selected Prose of Fernando Pessoa by Fernando Pessoa (tr. by Richard Zenith)
The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis by José Saramago (tr. by Giovanni Pontiero)
Dreams of Dreams and the Last Three Days of Fernando Pessoa by Antonio Tabucchi (tr. by Nancy J. Peters)
Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll tune in! — Leonor
Really looking forward to this!
So excited for this!!