good morning and welcome to another edition of “What are you reading right now?” where your hoddler-in-chief likes to solicit book recommendations and share some of his own.
Today, like the past few editions of this series, I write to inform you all that I am still in the process of reading Pessoa: A Biography, a definite and monumental account of the work of Fernando Pessoa.
It’s a marvel how Richard Zenith is able to weave together culture, history, geopolitics, religion and the occult to find the most accurate account of a man considered to be the godfather of Portuguese modernism. Was any Portuguese writer’s life as mysterious, complex and insulary as Pessoa’s? Zenith’s book appears to argue no.
I’m finally past the 800-page mark. Just 136 to go.
I must say, I did not realise how fascinated Pessoa was with the occult when I first read him. And his interaction with Alestair Crowley is one of the stranger coincidences I have heard of. Here we have this ephemeral (and sometimes non-physical) poet in contact with one of Britain’s most notorious authors and occultists.
It’s no surprise the relationship didn’t last long. And it seemed to be nothing more than just a footnote in the Portuguese author’s life.
What’s more fascinating are the dozens of projects he started and stopped, how he held court at his cafe, how he simultaneously advocated for and against the same ideals (writing as different authors).
There’s still a ways to go until I reach the end of this book, and so I’ll save my judgment on it (and on Pessoa) until then. But he, moreso than any other writer I’ve known, seemed to be an incredibly complex and – at times – nebulou person.
Fitzie’s track of the day: And Your Bird Can Sing, by The Beatles
And now for your links:
BBC: “‘It could be a remarkable season’ – can Spurs salvage campaign?”
The Athletic ($$): “Exactly what Son needs, Bergvall strikes again”
Dan KP: “Tottenham close in on Europa League progress but Ange Postecoglou’s urgent need is clear”
The Telegraph: “Criticised by Spurs fans but Son Heung-min rams barbs down critics’ throats”
The Guardian: “Son finds form at Hoffenheim to bring Europa League solace for Tottenham”
