Here is the fourth in a series of volumes by Fernando Pessoa’s celebrated “heteronyms”, a coterie of writers that Pessoa created and conceived as distinct personalities, each with a unique literary style. Ricardo Reis was imagined as a melancholic doctor “with a darkish complexion”, a self-taught Hellenist who exiled himself in Brazil because he was a monarchist. In a 1914 letter to Pessoa, the writer Mário Sá-Carneiro described Reis’s odes as “admirable”, “a marvel of impersonality”, praising the way he “achieved a Horatian, classical novelty”. Based on the definitive Tinta-da-China edition, published in Lisbon in 2016, this bilingual collection includes an illuminating introduction by Pessoa scholar Jerónimo Pizarro, facsimiles of original manuscripts and prose excerpts written by Ricardo Reis on art, on life and on the writings of Pessoa’s other heteronyms. Magnificently translated by Margaret Jull Costa and Patricio Ferrari, The Complete Works of Ricardo Reis is a must-have collection by one of Pessoa’s most refined heteronyms.

"Arguably, the four greatest poets in the Portuguese language were all Pessoa using different names." -- NPR
"As searing as Rilke or Mandelstam." -- The New York Times
"Indispensable." -- Publishers Weekly

Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935), the Portuguese poet, literary critic, and essayist, is one of the most significant literary figures of the twentieth century. He wrote not only under his own name but under over a hundred others (including Alexander Search, Alberto Caeiro, Álvaro de Campos, Ricardo Reis, and Bernardo Soares). A poet, translator, and editor, Patricio Ferrari has translated the works of Fernando Pessoa and Alejandra Pizarnik, among others. Margaret Jull Costa has won countless prizes for her translations from Portuguese and Spanish. Patricio Ferrari is a poet, translator, and editor, and has translated the works of Pessoa and Alejandra Pizarnik among others. Jerónimo Pizarro is Professor at the Universidad de los Andes and holds the Camões Institute Chair of Portuguese Studies in Colombia. Jorge Uribe has edited several editions of Pessoa’s works and translated various Portuguese authors into Spanish.