In Bed with Pessoa - Disquiet 64, 65, 66
Posted by Jesus Crisis at 3/6/2010 12:40 PM 
Categories: Poetry by Others, Video Blogs
Tags: Penguin Classics Portuguese The Book of Disquiet Fernando Pessoa Richard Zenith Jesus Crisis
Categories: Poetry by Others, Video Blogs
Tags: Penguin Classics Portuguese The Book of Disquiet Fernando Pessoa Richard Zenith Jesus Crisis
"No other writer ever achieved such a direct translation of self to paper. The "Book of Disquiet" is the world's strangest photograph, made out of words, the only material capable of capturing the recesses of the soul it exposes." Richard Zenith, translator, 2001. I wish I could read this Livro de Desassossego for you in Portuguese, my second foreign language.
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I wish I could read it in Portuguese!
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Some comments from Facebook:
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In September 1930 Aleister Crowley visited Lisbon and with the assistance of Fernando Pessoa faked his suicide at the Boca de Inferno, a rock formation on the sea. In fact Crowley left the country and reappeared 3 weeks later in Berlin where he met Aldous Huxley. Pessoa had an interest in occultism that led him to correspond with Crowley but there is no indication that he was part of Crowley's "sex magick" or other satanic cults. If one wants to type his philosophy it is more like pantheistic
transcendentalism. "Deus quer, o homem sonha, a obra nasce" (God desires, man dreams, the work is born.) I like this....
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Fascinating story I've not heard before... but I wonder why he faked his suicide. I also like the quotation "God desires, man dreams, the work is born." What work is that from?
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The reason Ozzie Osbourne has this strange song is because Crowley was known to take every drug imaginable, was hooked on heroin. had belonged and organized satanist cults, sex magick, and was well known in his day for occultism and all that goes with that. This appealed to Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, and even the Beatles who have Crowley on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album. Wiccans, rock groups, etc. all knew of Crowley. W. Somerset Maugham wrote a novel "The Magician" about Crowley. On top of all of this he was a misogynist, bi-sexual, and an anti-Semite. Pessoa was interested in the occult but only knew Crowley by some correspondence prior to his coming to Lisbon for this "magical suicide" where he is reported to have enjoyed the newspapers reporting his death (and then of course his coming back to life).
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Crowley was very popular during his era just like HP Blavatsky was... they drew an influencial following and moved in a circle of notables of their day.... People were draw to him and others like him just as the Beatles were draw to Maharshi Mahesh... It was the place to be and be seen.
Interesting to know Pessoa was draw to those sorts of ideas though...
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You might find this anecdote about W.B. Yeats and Crowley interesting as well: http://www.magickalmind.com/dorian/Yeats.html
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Thanks. I'll take a look..
And No.. I did not even know Crowley did a translation of the Tao Te Ching.. cool... I'll take a looksee too.
Thank you Mr. b...
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Have you ever thought of becoming a professional reader? You have such a great voice and I could probably sit and listen to you read all day.
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Thanks, Pinky! If someone was willing to pay me, I'd love to do that.
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