In Love With Lisbon

Category: Books

  • Words Without Borders – Portuguese Special

    Azulejo 24Words Without Borders is an online magazine dedicated to literature from around the world. Their aim is to make people aware of the enormous variety of international writing by translating those works and making them available to everyone through promotion and publishing. It’s a terrific site where you could quite easily lose a few days by reading the vast amount of material posted there.

    Their current issue (September 2007) features writing from the Portuguese world spanning Portugal, Africa and Brazil. You’ll find excerpts of books, poetry and interviews. I love the poem by Manoel De Barros and I am listening to a mix by DJ Spooky who is also featured on the site.  There is also a delightful piece by Teolinda Gersão called “The Woman Who Stole the Rain” which is beautifully written.

    Take a look – Words Without Borders


  • Ao Viandante – A Portuguese Poem

    Azulejo 20This is a poem that sits under a tree in the hushed gardens of Castelo de São Jorge. For some reason it really caught my eye and I spent quite some time there just looking at the words, trying to understand, trying to get the gist of meaning. A kind Brazilian man saw me looking and came over and read the poem to me, first in Portuguese and then in English. I was entranced.

    Perhaps it is because I have always felt a connection to trees, perhaps that it was a special moment in a quiet place. Perhaps it is because the poem says something so important so simply. To protect the enviroment is to protect ourselves.

    Ao Viandante
    © ILWL

     Ao Viandante

    Tu que passas e ergues para mim o teu braço,
    Antes que me faças mal. Olha me bem.
    Eu sou o calor do teu lar nas noites frias de inverno
    Eu sou a sombra amiga que tu encontras
    Quando caminhas sob o sol de agosto
    E os meus frutos são a frescura apetitosa
    Que te sacia a sede nos caminhos.
    Eu sou a trave amiga da tua casa, a tábua da tua mesa,
    A cama em que descansas e o lenho do teu barco
    Eu sou o cabo da tua enxada a porta da tua morada,
    A madeira do teu berço e do teu próprio caixão
    Eu sou o pão da bondade e a flor da beleza
    Tu que passas, olha-me bem e não faças mal

    Veiga Simões, Arganil, Maio de 1914
    Veiga Simões was a brilliant Portuguese politician, diplomat, writer and journalist.

    To the person who passes through this place

    You that pass and raise your arm to me
    before you hurt me, look at me well.
    I am the heat of your home in the cold winter nights.
    I am the friendly shade that you find
    when walking under the August sun
    And my fruits are appetizing freshness
    That satisfy your thirst on the way.
    I am the friendly beam of your house, the board of your table
    the bed in which you rest and the wood of your boat.
    I am handle of your hoe, the door of your dwelling
    the wood of your  cradle and of your own coffin.
    I am the bread of goodness and the flower of beauty.
    You that pass, look at me well and do no harm.