Planning a trip to Portugal? If so, make sure you stop by the Café A Brasileira, where you can pick up a hardcover deluxe edition of my translation of Fernando Pessoa’s Message. My friend Stephen Harris of bigbeaverdiaries.com happened to be in the Chiado neighborhood of Lisbon recently, so I sent him in search of my book. This is what he found:
Stephen also had a chat with A Brasileira’s manager Miguel, who told him that the café sells about 200 copies (!) of the English version of Pessoa’s poetic masterpiece per month. Check it out:
I myself visited the Café A Brasileira in the summer of 2018, as part of my “Journey to Iberia” (which I’ll write about one of these days). Here I am on the terrace outside with the great modern Portuguese poet, who is holding a copy of the paperback version of my translation:
As I mention in the “Translator’s Note” to the Brasileira edition, when making my “pilgrimage to Pessoa’s native city,” I was “astonished to find traces of the poet in almost every street and alley.” In fact, Pessoa and his translator met several times:
Of course, if you can’t make it to Lisbon, you can find my translation of Message on Amazon, where it is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
After you receive my delivery of Pessoa’s “message,” please remember to rate and review the book on Amazon, Goodreads, and BookBub!
Coming in July . . .
I know, I know, I haven’t delivered on the promises I made last month—not all of them anyway. But I have been diligently cleanin’ out my closet and I will continue to release as much new (and old) material as possible. Check your inbox for updates and, in the meantime, why not subscribe to my YouTube channel? New music videos premiere every Friday, and a backlog of podcast clips, book updates, and more will be uploaded with all possible speed.
Until soon!
MW