Fernando Pessoa’s Multitude
This course was available in the past and may be presented again as part of the Open Enrollment curriculum.
The stature of the national modernist writer of Portugal, Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935), has been on the rise in the English-speaking world. At the time of his death, Pessoa left two trunks full of unpublished manuscripts, only few of which were signed by his own name. The bulk of his writing Pessoa attributed to other personalities he called “heteronyms.” Each heteronym had a unique character, biography, and writing style. And each was invented by Pessoa the way a novelist might invent a character. Pessoa’s oeuvre would be of interest to anyone willing to embrace the idea of a fluid self. We will focus on the recently published complete version of Book of Disquiet and some of Pessoa’s poet-heteronyms. We’ll also discuss Jose Saramago’s novel inspired by Pessoa’s multiplicity. Expect weekly reading assignments of 60-80 pages. Required books: A Little Larger Than the Entire Universe, ISBN 9780143039556; The Book of Disquiet, ISBN 9780811226936; and Saramago’s The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, ISBN 9780156996938.
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Online registration deadline: Sep 19, 5 PM CT