The Disquiet of Senhor Pessoa

Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa: by most accounts, Portugal’s most famous 20th-century literary figure. A neglected modernist, a national treasure, and quite literally, according to his surname, a nobody—but what’s in a name? Pessoa proved as prolific with pen names as with his writings. They were in fact more than mere pseudonyms, but rather, heteronyms, each endowed with their own history, identity, prose style, and political views. This is the story of Fernando Pessoa’s last days—his fears, regrets, and unfinished business—told through the eyes of a young reporter penning a somewhat premature obituary.