Literature

EUGÉNIO IN MACAU
LOVING WITH WORDS

Much of Eugénio de Andrade's poetical work is clearly influenced by the images and rhythms of the Orient. Indeed, this same Oriental influence, reflecting the bizarreries and mythical quality of the East, without doubt affects the work of many other Portuguese poets.

Eugenio Andrade came to know the real Orient by passing through Macau, the door which was opened to Europeans by the Portuguese some four and a half centuries ago. He wandered through the city and then paid a visit to Canton where he gave two poetry readings. In fact, the excuse for his visit to Macau was an exhibition of portraits of the poet, drawn or painted by friends, some of whom have earned themselves major reputations in the artistic world. This was Macau's first experience of presenting an event which had already been a great success in Portugal. The Institute of Culture supported this visit and also published the first Chinese translation of Eugenio Andrade's work, the anthology Com Palavras Amo ("I Love with Words"), by the translator Yao Jingming.

Carlos Canrneiro, Chinese ink. and wash,1946

Yao Jingming writes that Andrade "gives me a breath of his being, awakening a love of the world". The translator lives in Portugal where he speaks of a meeting of universes, directed towards being consumated in "luminous revelations and eternal reconciliation." This is how Jingming explains his interest in the poet and their ease of meeting. He feels strongly, too, the significance of the speed with which Andrade took hold of the stimulii of the Orient and transformed them into writing, bearing witness to the underlying Orientalism which permeates his workand which also runs like a thread of silk through so much Portuguese poetry.

It is not, however, so much a matter of themes than of symbolism and imagery. So powerful are these that the reader can experience in his poetry a nearness to Heraclitean notions touched with the sadness which places Andrade so close to the Orient.

Andrade said that he felt deeply moved when he learned that his work had been translated into Chinese. "Traduttore, tradittore" is a valid maxim, particularly in the case of poetry. Nevertheless, these translations are still extremely significant since they offer a whole nation the opportunity to examine and appreciate the artistic output of another. Naturally, translations do stray from the original to a certain extent. This can be especially the case when translating from a European language into Chinese. However, in spite of this it still allows at least a glimpse of the differences between two poetic forms and increases a mutual understanding of personalities and their work which far surpasses national or cultural dimensions. It also brings into consideration some interesting theories regarding aspects of the anthropology of writing, the varying ways in which artists view the world.

Whilst in Macau, Eugenio Andrade had two opportunities to meet admirers of his work. The first occasion was in the reception hall of the Leal Senado. With portraits of historical figures from Macau's history as his back-drop, Andrade gave a reading from his extensive works. Then, two days later, he paid homage to Camilo Pessanha in the gallery of the Portuguese Bookshop. This was a unique experience where one of the greatest living Portuguese poets brought to life the work of another who had made his home in Macau, a city for ever vibrating with the heartbeat of the Orient.

At the same time, the gallery of the Bookshop was also used to present the exhibition which had brought Andrade to Macau. Here were displayed the portraits of the poet, work produced by painters, print-makers and sculptors. Most of the artists were friends of Andrade, such as Carlos Carneiro, Júlio Pomar, Martins Correia, José Rodrigues, Mário Botas, Lagoa Henriques, Júlio Resende and others who portrayed the poet over the course of his career. Perhaps because all the work exhibited dealt with the same subject, the conceptual and aesthetic differences of the various artists were even more apparent than if they had been dealing with varying subjects.

Martins Correia, charcoal and pastels,1959

Indeed, this relationship between poets and artists - painters in particular, is interesting. Poets have served as models and sources of inspiration for artists since the Renaissance when Giotto painted his friend Dante Alghieri. In Portuguese art we can witness this phenomenon in the many paintings of Fernando Pessoa, Camões, Antero de Quental and many others. When photography was becoming popular, the pioneering French photographer Nadar made a point of capturing the image of his friend, the great poet Charles Baudelaire. To speculate the reasons for this great preoccupation of artists with poets, it might be suggested that there is something strange in poets' faces, certain lines, certain furrows, whether real or imaginery, which seem to attract.

In Eugenio Andrade's case, each artist expressed his vision in a completely different way whether in pencil, Chinese ink, gouache, acrylics or clay. Andrade spoke of the portraits with great simplicity, explaining that they had been done merely by chance, in unplanned moments, the results of a spontaneous desire. He spoke also of the memories which these works revived, fond memories of old friendships. Afterwards, on his return to Portugal, he wrote from Oporto, expressing his appreciation for the warm reception he had been given and sending texts which bear witness to his deep interest and great fascination in the Orient.

PROFESSION OF PATIENCE

That particular part of the Pearl River estuary upon which I used to look as I sat at breakfast, is, I believe, known as Pearl Bay. To the left, the boats coming in from Hong Kong, whilst to the right the bridge stretched elegantly, heron-like in its shade of light grey, reaching out in a fine line linking the city of Macau to Taipa Island. In front of the bridge were the tallest of buildings, sky-scrapers in fact and the same on the opposite side, too.

Seen from afar, for example from the jet-foil coming from Hong Kong or from the Border Gate, Macau presents a deceptive silhouette. The deception fades quickly as the city reveals itself through its noises, smells and rhythms, for its body meets you round the very first comer. We are, after all, in the Orient where men and women live in the street. The street is where they eat and work, laugh and argue, where they live out their days in professions of patience. Poor they may be, but they do not feel humiliated by their poverty. Perhaps they know that there are wealthy men much poorer than they. Everything - ceramics, straw, bamboo, food, calligraphy, paintings, paper, poetry, cloth, stone, music - everything worked by their hands reveals a subtle, delicate and superior flavour.

Walking along the streets, down alleyways with the names no longer found in other cities; Herbalists Street, Sailors Close, Six House Square, Passion Alley, Friendship Avenue, Sancho Panza Alley, you feel tired. You go into a park where old people are gambling and talking. In the distance a woman is exercising her body, or her mind.... or both. Even further away, a girl and an old woman are looking at the city wall or the sea. The old lady's eyes are set on the distant horizon. The girl picks up a flute. A strain of music rises into the night air like a paper star. Night will soon be falling.

Macau, October 1990