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segunda-feira, 7 de maio de 2012

Exposição Fernando Pessoa - Plural como o Universo

Dedicada a Fernando Pessoa e aos seus heterónimos, esta exposição foi uma colaboração entre a Fundação Roberto Marinho e o Museu da Língua Portuguesa de São Paulo (Brasil), com o apoio da Fundação Gulbenkian.

Esteve aberta ao público de 10 de fevereiro a 6 de maio em Lisboa, na Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.






Agora, seguindo a exposição:


A primeira sala “ EU SOU MUITOS” é dedicada a Fernando Pessoa e aos seus heterónimos. “Tive sempre, desde criança, a necessidade de aumentar o mundo com personalidades fictícias, sonhos meus rigorosamente construídos, visionados com clareza fotográfica, compreendidos por dentro das suas almas".
FERNANDO PESSOA em 1935, descreveu-se como segue…

Nome Completo : Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa.

Idade e naturalidade: nasceu em Lisboa, freguesia dos Mártires, no prédio 4 do largo de S. Carlos (hoje do Diretório) em 13 de junho de 1888.

Filiação: filho legítimo de Joaquim de Seabra Pessoa e D. Maria Madalena Pinheiro Nogueira. […]

Profissão: a designação mais própria será “tradutor”, a mais exata a de “correspondente estrangeiro em casas comerciais”. O ser poeta e escritor não constitui profissão mas vocação. […]

Educação: em virtude de, falecido seu pai em 1893, sua mãe ter casado, em 1895, em segundas núpcias, com o comandante João Miguel Rosa, cônsul de Portugal em Durban […], foi ali educado.

Dizem que finjo ou minto

Tudo que escrevo. Não.

Eu simplesmente sinto

Com a imaginação.

Não uso o coração.



Tudo que sonho ou passo,

O que me falha ou finda,

É como que um terraço

Sobre outra cousa ainda.

Essa cousa é que é linda.




Por isso escrevo em meio

Do que não está ao pé,

Livre do meu enleio,

Sério do que não é.

Sentir? Sinta quem lê.



( “Isto”, 28-2-1929)



ÁLVARO DE CAMPOS nasceu em 15 de outubro de 1890, em Tavira, no Algarve, terra da família do pai de Pessoa. Segundo conta o poeta este heterónimo teve “uma educação vulgar de Liceu; depois foi mandado para a Escócia estudar engenharia, primeiro mecânica e depois naval. Numas férias fez a viagem ao Oriente, de onde resultou o “Opiário”. Agora está em Lisboa em inatividade."

Pode ser que para outro mundo eu possa levar o que sonhei

Mas poderei eu levar para outro mundo o que me esqueci de sonhar?

1928


A minha pátria é onde não estou

“Opiário”, 1914


RICARDO REIS , nascido no Porto, em 19 de setembro de 1887, estudou num colégio de jesuítas, onde aprendeu latim, e formou-se em medicina. Estudou grego por conta própria. Em carta a um amigo, Pessoa informa que Reis “vive no Brasil desde 1919, pois se expatriou espontaneamente por ser monárquico, na sequência da derrota da rebelião monárquica do Porto contra o regime republicano”

Segue o teu destino,

Rega as tuas plantas,

Ama as tuas rosas,

O resto é sombra

De árvores alheias.



A realidade

Sempre é mais ou menos

Do que nós queremos.

Só nós somos sempre

Iguais a nós próprios.



BERNARDO SOARES, na definição de Fernando Pessoa, era um “semi-heterónimo”. Comparando-se a ele, o autor afirma: “não sendo a personalidade a minha, é, não diferente da minha, mas uma simples mutilação dela. Sou eu menos o raciocínio e a afetividade.

Se imagino, vejo. Que mais faço se eu viajo?

Só a fraqueza extrema da imaginação justifica que se tenha que deslocar para sentir.



ALBERTO CAEIRO foi venerado como mestre pelos outros heterónimos e até pelo seu criador, Fernando Pessoa. Nasceu em Lisboa, em 16 de abril de 1889, mas passou a vida no campo, como “guardador de rebanhos”. O seu rebanho, esclareceu num poema, eram os seus pensamentos, e seus pensamentos eram sensações. Pouco instruído queria ver as coisas como as coisas são, sem filosofia.

Quando vier a primavera,

Se eu já estiver morto,

As flores florirão da mesma maneira

E as árvores não serão menos verdes

Que na primavera passada.

A realidade não precisa de mim.


Além dos heterónimos, Fernando Pessoa criou ao longo da vida dezenas de personalidades literárias. Entre elas:

Charles Robert Anon, poeta e prosador de língua inglesa.

Alexander Search, poeta, contista e ensaísta de língua inglesa.

Joaquim Moura Costa, poeta satírico e militante republicano.

Vicente Guedes, poeta, contista e jornalista.

António Mora, filósofo, sociólogo e teórico do neopaganismo.

Raphael Baldaya, astrólogo e filósofo.

Barão de Teive, prosador suicida.

Maria José, autora de uma carta apaixonada.

Gaudêncio Nabos, jornalista e humorista.



Na entrada para a sala seguinte o retrato mais famoso de Fernando Pessoa de Almada Negreiros (1893-1970), que faz parte da coleção da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian e um painel cronológico de Pessoa.


Podíamos ainda admirar pintura de Amadeo de Sousa- Cardoso (1887-1918) e Eduardo Viana (1881-1967) numa zona dedicada aos modernistas portugueses.
Amadeo de Sousa-Cardoso

Eduardo Viana


Motivo de grande interesse constituía a mostra de originais manuscritos, blocos de notas, o fac-simile da obra Mensagem digitalizada e ainda a própria arca onde Fernando Pessoa guardava os seus trabalhos.





Lisboa, 7 de maio de 2012


domingo, 6 de maio de 2012

Mother´s Day in Portugal


A few years ago Mother´s Day was commemorated in Portugal on December 8th, the day of the Immaculate Conception, the patron Saint of Portugal, but it changed to the first Sunday in May.



HAPPY MOTHER`S DAY 2012!








My mother and I in 1957.I was 1 month old.

sábado, 5 de maio de 2012

Fernando Pessoa: The Durban Years


In 1893, when Fernando Pessoa was five years old his father died of tuberculosis. Two years later his mother became engaged to Commander João Miguel Rosa, at that time appointed Portuguese consul in Durban, capital of the British colony of Natal in South Africa. The prospect of having to leave Portugal led to Pessoa writing his first poem dedicated to his mother. The marriage took place by proxy in Lisbon in December 1895 and next January Fernando Pessoa and his mother sailed to Durban.





Pessoa aged 7,10,13 and 17

He was sent to a convent school run by Irish nuns where he stayed for three years. In 1899 he moved on to Durban High School where he stayed till 1901, getting excellent reports and various school prizes. The headmaster, W.H. Nichols, was a classicist and humanist, who encouraged and influenced the precocious Fernando Pessoa. In 1901 he passed his Higher Certificate with distinction. The family moved to Lisbon but a year later he returned to Durban alone to prepare himself to enter the Cape University. He not only passed the exam but was also awarded the Queen Victoria Memorial Prize for the best English Essay, although English was his second language. In 1904 Fernando Pessoa passed his Intermediate exam at the Cape University. During this time he wrote numerous poems in English, some of them in the newspaper The Natal Mercury that still exists today.



It was decided that Fernando Pessoa should return to Lisbon for university education. He sailed alone in 1905. He had just turned seventeen.



In Fernando Pessoa´s work it seems he had forgotten Durban, but Durban hasn´t forgotten him: in 1985 a bust of Fernando Pessoa was inaugurated in Durban City Centre.




More recently, in 2005, his bust and a plaque with his famous saying: «Deus quer, o Homem sonha, a obra nasce»(God wills, man dreams, the work is born) written in English and Portuguese is on display in Durban High School.


Durban High School Entrance



References:

Lisboa,Eugénio, L.C. Taylor. A Centenary Pessoa. Carcanet, 1995

quarta-feira, 2 de maio de 2012

English Showcase IX


In Canada, Victoria Day is a holiday related to Queen Victoria´s birthday.




In May there is a celebration of peace and unity in Europe: Europe Day on May 9th.

terça-feira, 1 de maio de 2012

May 2012 Newsletter


© Clever Pants 2011



This month we invite you to celebrate the forthcoming London Olympics with a gruelling Pentathlon of activities! Firstly, warm up with some great feelgood quotes, then take a hop, skip and jump through some sporty idioms. Next, take the plunge in our Olympic sized quiz.

Finally... if you still have enough puff, go for gold with a hearty rendition of “We are the Champions”by Queen.



Feelgood quotes to make you smile!
"There is only one success - to spend your life in your own way."

Christopher Morley



"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."

Martha Washington



"Whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery.”

Anne Frank



"I'm so optimistic I'd go after Moby Dick in a row boat and take the tartar sauce with me."

Zig Ziglar



"The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does."

James M. BarrieC




Sporty idioms!

With the London Olympics fast approaching, how about some sporty idioms for May?



idiom (n): an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made.




Skate on thin ice

To do something risky, take a chance.

“You’re skating on thin ice my friend! If you miss one more exam you will fail the whole year!”



Be on the ball

To be able to react quickly.

“It’s really important that you’re on the ball when driving at night or in bad weather conditions.”



Be out of someone's league

Not as good as someone.

"I'd like to date Maria, but I'm afraid I'm out of her league."



The ball is in your court

It's your decision or responsibility to do something now.

“Nobody can make this decision for you. The ball is in your court so you have to make up your own mind what happens next.”



Hit below the belt

Do or say something that is very unfair or cruel.

“I know he doesn’t work very hard, but telling him that he is totally useless is a bit below the belt, isn’t it?”



Learn the ropes

Understand new things.

“The first week of a new job is usually just learning the ropes.”



Keep one's head above water

Try not to fall behind in work or other duties

“I’m so busy at the moment it’s a challenge just to keep my head above water!”




  

Song: Queen - We are the Champions!





I've paid my dues
Time after time
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face,
But I've come through

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
‘Cause we are the champions - of the world!

I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls.
You brought me fame and fortune and
everything that goes with it,
I thank you all!
But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise.
I consider it a challenge before the
whole human race,
And I ain't gonna lose!


Match the lyrics from the song to their meanings below.


1. I’ve finished my punishment.

2. I’ve finished.

3. It hasn’t been easy. x2

4. I’ve done everything asked of me.

5. I’ve done encores.

6. I’ve survived.



Glossary:

fame and fortune - celebrity status and money.

losers - people who don’t succeed.

‘cause - informal; because.

ain’t - informal; am not/is notET


 The text was taken from:


© Clever Pants 2011



segunda-feira, 30 de abril de 2012

May Day








May Day is on the first day of May. It originally comes from a very old pagan festival. People danced and sang and asked the gods to provide them with a good year. Nowadays it celebrates the beginning of summer.



Maypole Dancing is a traditional May Day dance that is still part of the life of some villages. People cut trees and stick them in the ground and then dance around the poles.

In many countries Worker’s Day is celebrated on May 1.
The historical roots of this day takes us back to Chicago in 1886:

Militant unionists wanted to secure an eight-hour working day and so started a strike. On May 3rd, one person was killed and several injured as police intervened to protect strikebreakers from strikers. In response to this violence, a mass meeting was convened at Haymarket Place the next day to protest against police brutality. When police officers arrived to disperse the crowd a bomb was thrown by someone who was never identified. It killed 7 policemen and injured 60 others. The police retaliated and fired back at the demonstrators, killing more than 12 people. This incident became known as the Haymarket Riot.




Sculpture by Mary Brogger (2004) in Haymarket Place


Eight leaders were taken to trial and condemned: 4 were eventually hanged, 1 committed suicide and 3 remained in prison till 1893, when they were pardoned by the governor of Illinois.


May Day was designated as an international worker’s day by the International Socialist congress of 1889, a day to remember the struggles of workers who were killed in their fight for better wages and improved working conditions.

May Day is recognized as Law Day in the USA. In Canada and USA, Worker’s day or Labour Day is commemorated on the first Monday of September.

 



Note: Mayday is also an international radio signal used by ships and aircraft when they are in danger . It is taken from the French “venez m’aider”- come and help me, which has a similar sound.



International Jazz Day


On 30th April 2012, International Day of Jazz is going to be celebrated for the first time  in order to raise awareness of jazz as musical genre and its specific qualities and features. This music was born in New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century. Its roots come from African rhythms, European musical forms and American gospel. Nowadays jazz has evolved into various styles all over the world.

According to Unesco Jazz must be celebrated because:

Jazz breaks down barriers and creates opportunities for mutual understanding and tolerance; Jazz is a vector of freedom of expression; Jazz is a symbol of unity and peace; Jazz reduces tensions between individuals, groups, and communities; Jazz fosters gender equality; Jazz reinforces the role youth play for social change; Jazz encourages artistic innovation, improvisation, new forms of expression, and inclusion of traditional music forms into new ones; Jazz stimulates intercultural dialogue and empowers young people from marginalized societies.




quarta-feira, 25 de abril de 2012

Casablanca



April 2012 marks the 70th anniversary of the release of Casablanca, a timeless epic love story that is one of the best films ever made.

It mixes all of the best ingredients to get the audience enthralled! You´ll watch it over and over again for the Romance! Suspense! Drama! And last but not least Music, “play it again Sam”….
It´s on the list for the “1001 Movies You Must Watch Before you Die” and number 3 on the AFI (American Film Institute) List for 100 best films. So, if you love movies, you must definitely see it! If you enjoy watching some classic black and white films, well make sure it gets on your list. If you want to make your Mom, Grandmother or even surprise your girlfriend with your vintage taste… well, it´s a pretty good choice.
I guess I could have just said: Casablanca is a MUST SEE MOVIE.
Did I mention it won Best Picture, Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay in the 1942 Academy Awards?


Haven´t I convinced you yet?
Well, you have Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa Lund ) as the leading lady, the elegant beauty of the 1950s and Humphrey Bogart (Rick Blaine) as the anti-hero.
It´s set in Nazi occupied Morocco, in the early days of World War II.
I won´t spoil the storyline for you, but here are some scenes to get you interested:
Romance:




Music:






Patriotism:

On April 26th a special encore presentation will take place in USA in select theatres.
 
Curious Facts:
The plane used in the film was an Aero Portuguesa (AP) company plane owned by  Mr Medeiros e Almeida. The AP was created with the main objective of providing air connection between Portugal, Morocco and Brazil. During World War II, the AP gained the importance of being the only company of a neutral country to be authorized to fly to a belligerent territory.
“Casablanca (1942) was an immediate success, beginning with an accident of history. On November 8, the Allied forces landed in Casablanca, and at once Jack Warner’s publicists prevailed on him to rush the picture to an early release in New York. After a sold- out premiere, every standing-room ticket was gone for subsequent performances… When President Roosevelt returned from the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, the film’s success was guaranteed… Indeed, among the fans was the president himself, who ordered a print for his guests at a New Year’s Eve party he hosted at the country’s own casa blanca, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”

 Donald Spoto. Notorious –The life of Ingrid Bergman. Harper Collins, 1997
Well, if I helped you pick your weekend movie, I´m glad… It seems like a “beginning of a beautiful friendship”.



Test your Casablanca knowledge with this quiz

April in Portugal



A peaceful revolution took place in Portugal on April 25, 1974. It was later called Carnation Revolution and was carried out by soldiers and the courageous “Captains of April”.

It put an end to almost 48 years of dictatorship. Consequently,  the Portuguese People showed their genuine happiness with huge crowds celebrating in the streets.

Political prisoners were liberated and democracy became reality. In those first 12 months the democratic rights of freedom of press, assembly and association were established. In 1975 Portugal held general elections, and for the first time the right to vote by secret ballot was extended to all men and women older than 18 years. 





segunda-feira, 23 de abril de 2012

World Book Day


Miniature book stand from Venice, Italy 



On April 23rd WORLD BOOK DAY is organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright (It is also called Copyright Day).

 


"The Library" by the portuguese painter Helena Vieira da Silva


 
It is a way of paying a worldwide tribute to books and encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading. April 23rd was the chosen date because Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare died on this day.




Lello Bookshop in Oporto, Portugal is considered one of the most beautiful in the world


 In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, WORLD BOOK DAY is held annually on the first Thursday in March to avoid the same date to clash with St George´s Day (the national day of England).


domingo, 22 de abril de 2012

EARTH DAY 2012


Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd.

It has been observed since 1970.


Earth Day was founded by the American senator Gaylord Nelson as a way of promoting environmental awareness.














Happy Earth Day 2012!