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One of the most original poets of European modernism, Pessoa maintained that literary texts should be appreciated apart from the names and reputations of their authors. Toward that end he sublimated his own genius in the creation of heteronyms, imginary poets possessing distinct influences and phases, grammar and style, biographies and even horoscopes. Among his most celebrated heteronyms are the philosopher Antônio Mora, the poet Coelho Pacheco, and short-story writer Pero Botelho. After a ten year sojourn in Durban, South Africa, he returned to Portugal at age 17 and thereafter never ventured far from his native Lisbon. Pessoa considered Mario de Sá Carneiro`s insistence on living in Paris as an exemplary case of Portuguese provincialism: "Had you been educated abroad as I was, under the influence of a great European culture, you would realize that the great cities are within you." |