Bookstores and publishing houses like Edições do Saguão, Frenesi, Letra Livre, Livros de Bordo, Maldoror, Tigre de Papel, and other publishers sharing their space have introduced hundreds of new titles to the Portuguese book market over the past year.
Their catalogs unveiled authors such as the British Olaf Stapledon, courtesy of VS Editor, and the historic Japanese Saigyo, thanks to Flâneur. They ventured into scientific discourse with ‘Planeta Simbiótico’ by Lynn Margulis at Saguão, rediscovered works by geographer Orlando Ribeiro, now available at Letra Livre, and presented titles by “great writers” often overlooked by larger publishers.
A não (edições) released ‘Este Mundo É Um Verstep – Antologia de Poesia Ucraniana’ earlier this month, featuring a catalog full of authors like Edwin Morgan (‘Última Mensagem’), Gertrude Stein (‘A Barriga no Ar’), Patti Smith (‘Mar de Coral’), Paul Auster (‘Espaços em Branco’), and Nobel contender Anne Carson (‘Vidro, Ironia e Deus’), alongside Isadora Neves Marques (‘A Campa de Marx’), Rosa Oliveira (‘Desvio-me da Bala…’), and Tatiana Faia (‘Adriano’).
Edições do Saguão has added books like ‘A Uma Hora Incerta’, poems by Italo Calvino, ‘A Longa Estrada de Areia’, stories by Pasolini, ‘Diário de Exílio’ by Yannis Ritsos, and ‘Um Inconcebível Acaso’ by Nobel laureate Wislawa Szymborska.
This publisher has consolidated works by Alberto Pimenta (‘O Poeta e o Social’, ‘They’ll Never be the Same’, ‘Ilhíada’), published authors such as André Gorz (translated by Rui Caeiro), Antero de Quental, Cesare Pavese, Maria Filomena Molder, Silvina Rodrigues Lopes, and Rui Pires Cabral (‘Tense Drills’).
Recent releases from Saguão include ‘Ser Moderno… em Portugal’ by Ernesto de Sousa and ‘Revoluções — Guiné-Bissau, Angola e Portugal (1969-1974)’ by Italian photographer Uliano Lucas, who documented liberation movements in Africa before and after April 1974.
The pavilion hosts publishers like BCF, offering titles by Alexander Kluge (‘Crónica dos Sentimentos’), Chantal Akerman (‘Uma Família em Bruxelas’), Hervé Guibert (‘A Imagem Fantasma’), and Marcel Schwob (‘A Cruzada das Crianças’); VS with ‘Cartas da Prisão’ by Antonio Gramsci, ‘Poesia’ by Ernesto Sampaio; and Flâneur with titles like ‘O Homem-Alegria’ by Christian Bobin, ‘Pássaros & Cogumelos’ by Joana Gama and João Godinho, and ‘Uma Só Carne com a Noite’, translations and versions by Vasco Gato, in collaboration with Língua Morta.
Livros de Bordo’s catalog includes authors like Albert Londres (‘Na Índia’) and Wenceslau de Moraes (‘Relance da Alma Japonesa’). Their pavilion offers titles from Antítese, Bestiário, Cornuda Radiante, Museu da Paisagem, Snob, such as ‘Álcoois’ by Apollinaire, ‘Museu do Romance da Terna’ by Macedonio Fernández (inspired by Jorge Luis Borges), ‘Diálogos sobre a Culminação dos Tempos Modernos’ by Jaime Semprun, ‘Tamanha Vastidão’ by Duarte Belo, and the anthology ‘Poesia Portuguesa Contemporânea’, organized by Joaquim Manuel Magalhães.
‘Livrinhos de Teatro’ from Artista Unidos are being published with Snob. Recent additions include ‘Isma ou o que se Chama Nada’ by Nathalie Sarraute, ‘Quatro Corações com Travão e Marcha-Atrás’ by Enrique Jardiel Poncela, and ‘O Percevejo’ by Vladimir Maiakovski.
Letra Livre and Maldoror share the Livros do Dia calendar, offering unique editions of authors like Orlando Ribeiro (‘A Formação de Portugal’, ‘Portugal, o Mediterrâneo e o Atlântico’), Emil Cioran (‘A tentação de Existir’), André Breton (‘Manifestos do Surrealismo’), Georges Bataille (‘Teoria da Religião’), João César Monteiro (‘Obra Escrita’), Franz Fanon (‘Os Condenados da Terra’), Mário Pinto de Andrade (‘Origens do Nacionalismo Africano 1911-1961’), and António Jacinto (‘Obra Reunida’).
Maldoror’s latest offerings include ‘Cantos de Maldoror’ by Lautréamont, translated by Pedro Tamen with drawings by René Magritte, and ‘O Relatório de Brodeck’ by Philippe Claudel, described as a “dark parable about war, xenophobia, and memory”, alongside works by Ezra Pound, Jean Genet, Constantin Cavafy, among many others.
Letra Livre presents Averno editions, like the recent ‘Súmula Poética’ by António Barahona da Fonseca, as well as titles from the former &etc, founded by Vitor Silva Tavares.
Maldoror also carries Língua Morta and Cutelo. Língua Morta, which published ‘A Mulher do Meio’ by Ivone Mendes da Silva, recently released ‘O Prato do Diabo – Um Dicionário Pachecal’ by Luiz Pacheco, organized by João Pedro George, ‘O Equilíbrio’ by Tonino Guerra, and ‘O Futuro é o Mal’ by Heiner Müller. Cutelo includes titles such as ‘Knockemstiff’ by Donald Ray Pollock and ‘Vestuário Contra as Mulheres’ by Anne Boyer.
The anthology ‘A Liberdade não se Concede, Conquista-se. Que a Conquistem os Negros!’ with texts by Mário Domingues was published by A Batalha with Letra Livre and Falas Africanas.
A Batalha’s publications in the Chili com Carne pavilion include ‘Cem Mil Anos para Ir à Escola’, an anthology by American poet Paul Goodman in collaboration with Barricada de Livros, and ‘A Luta Armada Anticapitalista na Catalunha nos Últimos Anos do Franquismo’, an anthology by Salvador Puig Antich, who was executed by the Spanish dictatorship.
Tigre de Papel Bookstore offers its own editions like ‘Cambedo da Raia – Solidariedade Galego Portuguesa Silenciada’ by various authors, in the context of the Spanish Civil War, ‘Cidade Suave’ by David Sim, ‘Fado Tropical’ by Marcos Cardão, ‘Pedrógão Grande. O Direito à Arquitectura Pós-Incêndio’, a study by Marina Marmelada, and ‘Inácia, a Galinha Sindicalista’ by Dora Santos Rosa and Felisbela Fonseca, suitable for all ages.
Tigre de Papel also features Casa da Achada, which republished Mário Dionísio and released ‘Ver Agora Melhor o Mais Distante’ by Regina Guimarães; and Companhia das Ilhas, publisher of ‘Escola do Melhor. Luz e Sombra nas Artes da Imagem’ by João Barrento, ‘Pelléas e Mélisande’ by Maeterlinck, translated by Pedro Eiras, with authors like Gertrude Stein, TS Eliot, and Vitorino Nemésio.
Fora de Jogo, also represented here, offers ‘O Petróleo de Angola. Uma história colonial (1881-1974)’ by Franco Tomassoni, and ‘Memórias de um Caçador de Lixo’ by Celso Mussane, about suburban life during the Portuguese presence in Mozambique.
‘Lisboa e a Memória do Império’ by Elsa Peralta from Outro Modo, and productions from the Boca project, such as ‘Histórias de Liberdade’ by Miguel Torga, are also found at Tigre de Papel.
Frenesi combines publishing with bookstore and antiquarian activities. Its stand could include fiction by Nelson de Matos, former editor of Dom Quixote, who passed away on the 8th, rarities like ‘Lisboa e quem Cá Vive’, stories by Irene Lisboa published under the name João Falco, by Seara Nova, and reissues like ‘O Calcanhar de Aquiles’ by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro.
The catalog also features original poetry by Fátima Maldonado (‘Cadeias de Transmissão’), Helder Moura Pereira (‘Amor Carnalis’), and Paulo da Costa Domingos (‘O Homem Quase Novo’), essays by Raoul Vaneigem (‘Banalidades de Base’), writings by Asger Jorn from the Cobra movement (‘A Roda da Fortuna’), and classics by Baltazar Gracián y Morales and Ludovico Ariosto.
Authors like Alexandre Herculano, Camilo Castelo Branco, Fialho de Almeida, Gil Vicente, and Manuel Laranjeira are also featured by Frenesi, which published ‘O Teatro da Cornucópia — As Regras do Jogo’ by Carlos Alberto Machado.
In the myriad of small publishers, the presence of bookstores and distributors at the book fair might open doors for publishers without ‘official representation’, through their stores.
Recent releases include ‘Serenamente sobre Lanternas’, the Portuguese debut of American Andrea Cohen, translated by Francisco José Craveiro, published by Editora do Lado Esquerdo, ‘Arder no Gelo’ by Mozambican Mélio Tinga, published by A Morte do Artista, ‘Mais Uma Desilusão’ by Valério Romão, published by Abysmo, John Cage’s text ‘Onde é Que Estamos a Comer? O Que é Que Estamos a Comer?’ from Douda Correria, and ‘Poemas Escolhidos 1959-2024’ by American Neeli Cherkovsky from Barco Bêbado.
The 95th edition of the Lisbon Book Fair concludes next Sunday.
