Richard Zenith, one of the greatest specialists in Fernando Pessoa, will be in Tavira on the 11th of June, to the first event of Álvaro de Campos' Birthday Party.
After dedicating himself to writing “Pessoa: a Biography”, a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize, Zenith has just released his work in the Portuguese version – and is now coming to Tavira to present it, at the opening of Álvaro de Fields (heteronym that Person gave birth in Tavira).
On this day, two sessions will be held, one in English and the other in Portuguese, before the start of the official birthday party, an extensive program that will take place in Tavira from 15 October to 30 November.
Tela Leão, responsible for Partilha Alternativa, which organizes this event from Pessoa, explains to the Sul Informação that the first session, from 14:30 pm to 16:30 pm, will be a conversation in English about the book “Pessoa: a Biography”, for all those who are interested and, especially, for the artists of Galeria Artesis, «who participate in the party every year ».
«This is a group of English people who have been participating in the Festival for three years. They choose a theme, develop it and then do an exhibition with it. This year, I called Zenith and asked if he would mind bringing an informal conversation about Fernando Pessoa, in English, to this group and he, in a very friendly way, accepted right away», explains Tela Leão.
In addition to this session, there will be another one, from 18:00 to 19:00, in Portuguese, where Richard Zenith will talk a little about his “Person: Uma Biografia” – Portuguese version published this May -, answer questions and be available to autograph copies of the book, which will be on sale at the Tavira Library.
The first session will be reserved for 60 people, upon prior registration, so that there is greater interaction between Richard Zenith and the participants. «The goal is for this audience to get to know Fernando Pessoa’s work better because, unlike us, they did not have the opportunity to study it at school», explains Tela Leão.
According to the person responsible for the Anniversary, this is an event that, despite the time of year in which it takes place, receives many interested parties.
«Over time, I think that the city of Tavira became visible in relation to a heritage that is undoubtedly immaterial: since we are talking about a character, What a was born in Tavira», he says, regarding Álvaro de Campos.
"Person. Uma Biografia”, bound edition, with over a thousand pages and two photo notebooks, will be on sale at the Municipal Library of Tavira, for 29,90 euros, on 11 June.
The English version of Richard Zenith's work was a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in the Biography category.
The American Zenith is a writer, translator, researcher and one of the most distinguished specialists (national and international) on Pessoa's life and work. He was awarded the Pessoa Prize in 2012. He has lived in Portugal for over 30 years, dividing his time between Lisbon and the Algarve Carrapateira.
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