SOUTH AFRICAN CONNECTION: How an anglophone education in Durban shaped Fernando Pessoa, giant of European literature
In a world of rising nationalism and narrow identity politics, the writings of the late 19th-century ‘multifaceted giant of European modernism’ Fernando Pessoa and his belief in finding the plurality of self in the plurality of world is a balm for troubled times.
Fernando Pessoa, a giant of European modernism, was shaped by his anglophone education in Durban, South Africa. Richard Zenith, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and translator of Pessoa's work, visited South Africa for a local launch of his biography of Pessoa. Zenith, who has lived in various countries, vividly remembers his first encounter with Pessoa's poetry during a university semester in Bogota.
The poem, written by one of Pessoa's heteronyms, Alvaro de Campos, captivated him with its opening lines that expressed a sense of nothingness and dreams.
Pessoa's educational journey in Durban, from St Joseph's to Durban Boys High and the Commercial School, exposed him to the English language and literature. He won prestigious prizes for his entrance exam essay and first published poem in English, under the early heteronym Charles Robert Ano. The young Pessoa found in Shakespeare a reflection of his philosophy of depersonalization and the creation of distinct authorial selves.
The traumatic dislocation and upheaval of his adolescence in Durban, combined with the death of his father and younger brother, instilled in Pessoa a sense of the impermanence of life. In South Africa, he was exposed to different codes and languages, including Zulu and English. The literary strength of the English language, considered a key to cultural influence, helped Pessoa distinguish himself from contemporary Portuguese poets.
Pessoa's familiarity with Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, Shelley, and Keats shaped his creative sensibility.
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