Kenneth David Jackson. Adverse Genres in Fernando Pessoa. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Abstract

In Adverse Genres in Fernando Pessoa, Kenneth David Jackson proposes a new understanding of Pessoa’s approach to literary genres. The study highlights the centrality of the figure of paradox in Pessoa’s works, which, as demonstrated, has also permeated the criticism of his texts. Jackson revisits influential conceptualizations of Pessoa and his heteronyms, such as Octavio Paz’s “the man who didn’t know himself,” Jorge de Sena’s “the man who never was,” or George Monteiro’s “empty labyrinth” of his inner-being.