A revolutionary anthology in 1960s Portugal

On April 22, 2020 By europeancollectionsIn PortugueseLeave a comment

Natalia antologia 1965 — *The new edition (*745:23.c.201.7*)*

The UL recently acquired a new edition of the Antologia de poesia portuguesa erótica e satírica, a book that represents an important part of Portuguese literary and political history. First published in December 1965, the book’s release earned its editor, the poet and writer Natália Correia, a 3-year suspended prison sentence.

To 21st century eyes, this is a scholarly and comprehensive work of anthology. It compiles works by most of the major figures in Portuguese poetry dating back to the medieval troubadours, including Camões, Bocage, Almeida Garrett, Fernando Pessoa and António Botto. Also included are those then-contemporary poets – such as Maria Teresa Horta, Mário Cesariny, Herberto Helder, Luiz Pacheco, Jorge de Sena and Natália Correia herself – who have since come to be considered equally canonical. Therefore, it is interesting to reflect on the “seismic shock” (as Correia described it) that the book caused on its initial publication. Continue reading “A revolutionary anthology in 1960s Portugal” →

“Black models” in visual culture and modern arts

On October 18, 2019October 24, 2019 By europeancollectionsIn English, French, Portuguese1 Comment

The Mémorial ACTe (Centre caribéen d’expressions et de mémoire de la Traite et de l’Esclavage) in Guadeloupe is hosting until December 2019 a jointly curated exhibition previously held at the Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University in New York, Posing Modernity: The Black Model from Manet and Matisse to Today (October 2018 to February 2019, see C200.a.5469) and at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, Le Modèle noir, de Géricault à Matisse (March to July 2019, see S950.b.201.5919). The Memorial to slavery, opened in 2015, which is also a cultural centre and museum, seems an appropriate venue for this exhibition, which focuses on “the representation of the black figure in the development of modern art”. Continue reading ““Black models” in visual culture and modern arts” →

Splitting the world in two: the 525th anniversary of the Treaty of Tordesillas

On June 7, 2019July 3, 2019 By europeancollectionsIn Portuguese, Spanish4 Comments

Tordesillas1 — P. 1 of the Spanish version (click to see enlarged)

The 7^th June marks the 525th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas. The treaty was named for the Castilian town near Valladolid where it was signed by the Catholic Kings (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) and John II, King of Portugal. The signing of this treaty divided those parts of the world newly “discovered” by Spain and Portugal between the empires of the two kingdoms along an imaginary meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands. The lands to the east of this line corresponded to Portugal and those to the west to Spain.

The Treaty of Tordesillas had a precedent, the Treaty of Alcáçovas (1479), that followed the War of Castillan Succession, and already marked the division of the Atlantic into two spheres of influence, one for Spain and the other for Portugal, with the exception of the Canary islands (Spanish, but in the Portuguese sphere). This was confirmed by the papal bull Aeterni regis (Sixtus IV, 1481) which recognised as Portuguese some disputed territories in the Atlantic (Guinea, Madeira, Azores and Cape Verde). More importantly, the treaty recognised Portugal exclusive right of navigation south of the Canary islands. Continue reading “Splitting the world in two: the 525th anniversary of the Treaty of Tordesillas” →

Mário Cesariny: Between us and words

On July 10, 2018 By europeancollectionsIn Portuguese2 Comments

cp_poesia_cesariny — Poesia / Mário Cesariny. Assírio & Alvim, 2017.

The UL recently acquired Poesia by Mário Cesariny (1923 – 2006), the first comprehensive collection of poetry by the Portuguese Surrealist. The library began collecting Cesariny’s work in the late 1980s, when much of his poetry was re-published and gained a new audience – but by which time he himself had more or less abandoned writing to focus on painting.

Cesariny was born and lived his whole life in Lisbon, though during his early 20s he briefly studied art at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. While he was there, in 1947 he met one of his major influences, André Breton. Spurred on by this encounter, Cesariny and his circle, who regularly met at Lisbon’s cafe A Mexicana, formed the Grupo Surrealista de Lisboa later that same year. Before formalising the birth of Portuguese Surrealism, these young writers and artists, amongst them the poet Alexandre O’Neill, had already begun to reject the strict Neo-Realism that had formed the dominant artistic opposition to Salazar’s regime. Continue reading “Mário Cesariny: Between us and words” →

The Robert Howes donation on the Portuguese revolution and colonial wars

On July 7, 2017July 11, 2017 By europeancollectionsIn Historical collections, Portuguese, Special collectionsLeave a comment

Cambridge University Library is grateful to Dr. Robert Howes for his donation of material on the Portuguese revolution of 1974 and the Portuguese colonial wars.

This donation significantly extends and complements our holdings on the history of the period, providing a good insight into the atmosphere and activism of the times.
Continue reading “The Robert Howes donation on the Portuguese revolution and colonial wars” →

The Lisbon earthquake of 1755

On December 8, 2016 By europeancollectionsIn Historical collections, New Acquisitions, Portuguese1 Comment

7000-d-195311-1 — Title page of *Carta em que se mostra a falsa profecia* (7000.d.1953(11)) Click on image to enlarge.

The University Library has acquired a first edition of Carta em que se mostra a falsa profecia do terremoto do primeiro de Novembro de 1755 (1756). This is a rare pamphlet by the Portuguese historian and writer Pedro Norberto de Aucourt e Padilha (1704-1759) published the year after the great Lisbon earthquake. Writing under the pseudonym of ‘Epicureo Alexandrino,’ the author dismisses the prophecies that, in the aftermath of the event, claimed that the natural disaster was God’s work.

The Lisbon earthquake struck in the morning of All Saints Day 1755. With a magnitude estimated at eight points in the Richter scale, it opened cracks on the ground of up to five metres wide and destroyed eighty five percent of the city. It was followed by three tidal waves that engulfed the port and the city centre. There were also multiple fires, many of them started by the candles lit in churches to pray for the dead. The fires lasted for five days. Continue reading “The Lisbon earthquake of 1755” →

Realism and naturalism in Portugal

On August 10, 2016August 12, 2016 By europeancollectionsIn Portuguese1 Comment

Portrait of Antonio Soares dos Reis by Marques de Oliveira via Wikimedia Commons — Portrait of Antonio Soares dos Reis by Marques de Oliveira, picture by Joseolgon via Wikimedia Commons

On a recent visit to Porto I spent a happy afternoon in the Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis and particularly enjoyed the work of some of the 19^th century Portuguese artists, none of whom I had heard of but who deserve to be better known. On my return to England, I discovered that the University Library had very few books dealing with these individual artists; further searching on COPAC and the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal revealed that, in fact, very little has been published so far on them but we will be keeping an eye out in the future for any new publications dealing with them.

The museum is named after the sculptor António Soares dos Reis (1847-1889) and it contains a good collection of his works in a dedicated room. Continue reading “Realism and naturalism in Portugal” →

Gregory Rabassa, 1922-2016

On July 12, 2016June 28, 2016 By europeancollectionsIn Latin American, Portuguese, SpanishLeave a comment

m3644431465923242 — Gregory Rabassa in 2007 (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News)

Many of the Latin American Boom’s greatest writers owe much of their international acclaim to one man: Gregory Rabassa, who passed away last month.

Rabassa’s English translations of Julio Cortázar’s Hopscotch (9743.c.74), Mario Vargas Llosa’s The green house (9743.c.108) and, in particular, Gabriel García Márquez’s One hundred years of solitude (9743.c.116) sold millions of copies and brought these authors to a much wider audience. He enjoyed a particularly close and mutually appreciative relationship with Cortázar and also translated the great Brazilian authors, Clarice Lispector, Jorge Amado and Machado de Assis, amongst many others. Continue reading “Gregory Rabassa, 1922-2016” →

Hispanic Research Journal

On May 4, 2016May 4, 2016 By europeancollectionsIn Portuguese, SpanishLeave a comment

Electronic Collection Management

New on ejournals@cambridge A-Z : Hispanic Research Journal.

From the Taylor & Francis website for the journal:

“Hispanic Research Journal promotes and disseminates research into the cultures of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America, from the Middle Ages to the present day. The fields covered include literature and literary theory, cultural history and cultural studies, language and linguistics, and film and theatre studies. Hispanic Research Journal publishes articles in four languages; Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and English, and encourages and interaction between researchers all over the world who are working in these fields.
HRJ is published on behalf of the Department of Hispanic Studies, Queen Mary, University of London.
This journal publishes two annual special issues per year, featuring screen arts and visual arts…”

Now available to the University of Cambridge electronically from volume 1 (2000) to present.

Access Hispanic Research Journal via the ejournals@cambridge A-Z or at this link.

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Category: Portuguese