"Poems by Fernando Pessoa" is a collection that delves into the complexity of Fernando Pessoa’s poetic work, providing a comprehensive view of his multifaceted creation and the depth of his reflections on existence, identity, and modernity. This book gathers poems written under his own name and, especially, under his heteronyms – Alberto Caeiro, Álvaro de Campos, Ricardo Reis, and occasionally, Bernardo Soares – each with its own personality and distinct philosophical outlook, making Pessoa’s work a universe of multiplicity and contradictions.

Alberto Caeiro, considered the “master” of the heteronyms, presents a poetry of simplicity and spontaneity, rejecting abstract concepts and advocating for a direct relationship with nature. His philosophy embraces the world as it is, without needing to understand it profoundly. Caeiro celebrates the immediate and the concrete, seeing nature as a pure truth that requires no interpretation.

Álvaro de Campos, in contrast, is intense and passionate, and his poems carry influences of futurism, exalting modernity and celebrating technological progress. However, his poetry also expresses existential anguish and a sense of alienation in the face of urban and industrialized life. He embodies the poet in conflict, gripped by contradictory feelings of ecstasy and despair, reflecting on the complexity of the self and the dilemmas of modern life.

Ricardo Reis, in turn, brings a more serene and classical vision, inspired by stoicism and epicureanism. His poetry is marked by formality and balance, reflecting on life’s brevity, the passage of time, and the search for tranquility in the face of death’s inevitability. With restrained, almost philosophical language, Reis explores themes of resignation and acceptance, advocating for a posture of serenity in the face of life’s inevitable truths.

The collection also includes poems by Pessoa himself, which reflect his metaphysical anguish and relentless search for meaning in a fragmented world. Pessoa’s poetry expresses deep introspection and a constant analysis of the multiplicity of the “self,” where he divides himself into various voices and perspectives, each questioning and reflecting on different aspects of life and human existence.

"Poems by Fernando Pessoa" is, therefore, an essential work for understanding the poet’s genius and the legacy he left for literature. This collection not only reveals Pessoa’s literary brilliance but also offers a journey through the human soul in its multiple dimensions, confronting the reader with questions of identity, time, solitude, love, and the inexorable search for self-understanding and transcendence. Through his poetry, Fernando Pessoa unfolds into a plurality of perspectives that reflect the complexity of the human condition, making this work a true milestone in universal poetry.