Poetry | Dedicated Pessanha museum depends on public favor
Journalist and director of Portuguese-language newspaper Hoje Macau Carlos Morais José has long called for a museum dedicated to Camilo Pessanha, the Portuguese writer and symbolist poet who lived most of his life in Macau.
Speaking to the Times on the sidelines of an event celebrating 150 years since the poet’s birth, Morais José – known for in-depth studies on Pessanha’s works – expressed his hopes for the establishment of a Pessanha museum.
“If that is the will of the community I think it is possible to do anything in Macau,” he said. “This is something that makes sense.”
Morais José said the experience and feedback that he had gathered from people during the celebrations were very encouraging, and added that the understanding expressed by the authorities was another positive factor.
“If everyone contributes with a little [of their own help] I think it is very easy to do anything in Macau, because it’s a place that has resources and if there is [a] will, [it] is in fact possible,” Morais José reaffirmed.
The Old Court building is currently hosting an exhibition of local and Portuguese paintings and other artworks, as well as a photography exhibition by Portuguese artist António Falcão, who lived in Macau for many years.
A new missal edition of one of Pessanha’s most celebrated works, “Clepsydra,” was also launched at the grand opening last Friday.
As Morais José explained to the Times, the idea for this new “pocket-size” edition has its roots in a famous quote about “Clepsydra” by another Portuguese writer, António Ferro, who said in the 1920s that “our generation finally has a missal.”
He described “Clepsydra” as a book that sends the readers to a transcendental world, in the same way a Roman missal brings people to the universe of the Christian God.
Morais José also noted that the event would not only address the poet’s history and past works, but highlight how he will continue to inspire future generations.
“We can’t always talk about Camilo Pessanha with eyes on the past. He has to be a source of inspiration,” Morais José said, explaining that the event was supported by the participation of new writers who were “somehow inspired by Pessanha” and hoped “to stimulate contemporary creation [based on] reflection on Pessanha’s work.”
The Celebrations of 150 Years of Camilo Pessanha opened on September 1 and will run until September 7 at the Old Court Building.
Who is Camilo Pessanha?
Camilo Pessanha, best known as one of the world’s greatest symbolist poets, was born on September 7, 1867 in Coimbra, Portugal and died in Macau on March 1, 1926. Pessanha arrived in Macau on April 10, 1894 to teach philosophy in the newly established Gymnasium of Macau. Pessanha’s masterpiece “Clepsydra” (1920) is the result of his habit of giving his poems away to friends, which led to several pieces being lost or destroyed. The idea for “Clepsydra” came about when Ana de Castro Osório suggested compiling all of Pessanha’s works into a single volume. Pessanha agreed, and rewrote many of the lost poems in “Clepsydra” from memory.
