I am the size of whatever I see

by Fernando Pessoa

Genres: Poetry, Classics

88 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2025

About the author

Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa was a poet and writer.

It is sometimes said that the four greatest Portuguese poets of modern times are Fernando Pessoa. The statement is possible since Pessoa, whose name means ‘person’ in Portuguese, had three alter egos who wrote in styles completely different from his own. In fact Pessoa wrote under dozens of names, but Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis and Álvaro de Campos were – their creator claimed – full-fledged individuals who wrote things that he himself would never or could never write. He dubbed them ‘heteronyms’ rather than pseudonyms, since they were not false names but “other names”, belonging to distinct literary personalities. Not only were their styles different; they thought differently, they had different religious and political views, different aesthetic sensibilities, different social temperaments. And each produced a large body of poetry. Álvaro de Campos and Ricardo Reis also signed dozens of pages of prose.

The critic Harold Bloom referred to him in the book The Western Canon as the most representative poet of the twentieth century, along with Pablo Neruda.

Reviews

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got it as a present for myself while visiting Lisbon.
Great decision!
I particularly enjoyed Ricardo Reis’s work, which leaned heavily into making the most of the now, but beautiful pieces throughout.

[Ev.Ani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was convinced to buy as the shopkeep at the Bertrand bookstore told me it’s a collection by a well known Portuguese author.

Having finished it was a delightful read and introduction to Pessoa, his heteronyms were interesting and fun to read. Below are some of my favourite lines; for memories sake.

Fernando Passos:

“To the sea God gave danger and the abyss,
But as heaven’s mirror it also exists”

Alberto Caerio:

“From my village I see as much land as is seen anywhere in the Universe…
That’s why my village is as large as any other land,
Because I am the size of whatever I see
And not my actual height…”

Ricardo Reis:

“Chase your destiny,
Water your plants,
Love your roses.
The rest is shade
From other people’s trees.”

Álvaro De Campos:

“When I wanted to take off the mask,
It was stuck to my face.
When I took it off and saw myself in the mirror,
I had already aged.”

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

When in Lisabon måste man köpa och läsa portugisisk poesi... Aldrig läst (eller hört om Pessoa) tidigare men verkar som en intressant karl med flera pseudonym med olika påhittade bakgrunder och litterära stilar. I denna diktsamling har olika dikter av olika pseudonym samlats. Vissa dikter (pseudonym) gillar jag starkt medan andra inte föll mig i smaken alls... Alltså en trea...

[Soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A pox on you and on all who live life wanting to invent a machine that manufactures happiness.”
- Alberto Caeiro, aka Fernando Pessoa

Boekje dat ik heb gekocht in Lissabon in de oudste nog bestaande boekenwinkel in de wereld: Bertrand (anno 1732)!

[Emma Struebing]

My friend brought this back for me from Portugal, and while I can’t say I’m super drawn to reading poetry, I love this one a little extra because this friend thought of me and brought it to me.

I liked the poetry written by heteronym Alberto Caeiro the best, or at least resonated with it the most. In general, Fernando Pessoa is quite the existential guy!

[Layal Baroud · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐
I got this book in Lisbon and the bookstore worker recommended it to me. absolute masterpiece!!!

[Liv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting philosophy / worldview to dig into. There is a lack of emotion and feeling in Pessoa’s worldview, and it’s pretty melancholic. At first i thought to myself “god how can anyone bear to think this way?”, but it got more fascinating as it went on. My favourite piece in here is “There is metaphysics aplenty in thinking about nothing” - it's really wonderful! Surprisingly, although i was craving for him to express some sort of feeling about the world, I found the work under the heteronym Álvaro De Campos the least engaging.

[Regulus Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought some of Pessoa’s books from the Bertrand Bookshop after searching for a specific copy of the Book of Disquiet for years. Saw this and decided, while in line, to take it too as it seemed interesting.

I am so glad I picked this up.

Pessoa’s writings will always elicit this sense of saudade within me. I feel homesick, and yet I feel immense love for where I am currently. Reading his works reminds me of my childhood, of devouring bits and pieces of his works online through scraps and quotes, not having enough money to buy books or being unable to find any of his books in the Philippines.

Of all the poems written in this short book, these three are the ones with lines that struck my soul:

Fernando Pessoa

Love, when you reveal it

“Love, when you reveal it,
Has no idea how to be revealed.”

“I write things I thought I felt.
I re-read and say: “Was that me?”
God knows, because he wrote it.”

I have so much feeling

“There is so much tenderness
In saying nothing
And understanding everything--“

Alberto Caeiro

There is metaphysics aplenty in thinking about nothing

“The only intimate sense of things
Is not having any intimate sense at all.”

-

“I don’t believe in God because I’ve never seen him.
If he wanted me to believe in him,
No doubt he would come speak with me
And would walk through my front door
And call, “Here I am!””

-

“But if God is the flowers and the trees
And the hills and the sun and the moon,
Then I believe in him,
Then I believe in him all the time,
And my entire life is a prayer and a mass,
And a communion with my eyes and my ears.”

-

“I obey him by living, spontaneously,
As someone who opens his eyes and sees,
And I call him moon and sun and flowers and trees and hills,
And I love him without thinking about him,
And I think of him seeing and hearing,
And I walk with him all the time.”

[Arvis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another collection by Mr Pessoa, now that I’m done with the souvenirs from Portugal I doubt I’ll be revisiting him any time soon.

The melancholy and detachment in his style of poetry just doesn’t mesh well with me. Me and him are both dramatic in such different ways that I just can’t get on board with it all too much. Maybe it’s the translation, maybe it’s just me but I’m not really planning on learning Portuguese to find out which one it is :/

[Wyame · Rating 5 out of 5]

“All of us who are alive
Have one life that is lived
And another life that is imagined,
And the only life we have
Is this one that’s divided
Between truth and error.

That said, nobody knows
How to explain which is truth
And which is error”

Souvenir from the oldest library in the world, Bertrand, in Lisbon.
Solo trip 2026

[indiaminnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

“from my village i see as much of the universe as can be seen from the earth/ and so my village is as large as any town/ for i am the size of what i see/ and not the size of my height”

got as a souvenir in lisbon from the oldest book store in the world. i nice collection of poems by famous portuguese poet fernando pessoa.

[Victoria Click]

breaking my reading slump!

i’m not 100% sure if this is the same edition but i bought this collection of poems by fernando pessoa called “i am the size of whatever i see” translated by calvin olsen in lisbon

[Haley Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[BooksRgood · Rating 3 out of 5]

wonderful title, the poems didn't wow me much.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked this book, but I enjoy poetry. Probably helped that I also purchased it in the oldest bookstore in Europe, so the memories add to experience!

[Kasey Ketelhut · Rating 4 out of 5]

got this in my trip while in Portugal!! I am excited to pick this up whenever I am missing the trip & the country.

[Bekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Safa Hammoud · Rating 3 out of 5]

The translation didn’t properly reflect the poet’s words.

[Kato :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man was zijn tijd zo ver vooruit

[Marlies · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible to see the writing shift with esch persona!!

[hanny · Rating 5 out of 5]

i know it’s cheeky logging a book of poems on here but i only do it once a year and these were gooorrrrgeous and im grateful to have read them - very perfect portugal souvenir 🙂‍↕️

[Reilly Ingleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autopsychography
A poet is someone who feigns
Pretending so completely
They'll even pretend they're in pain,
A pain that must be felt deeply.
And all who read what he writes,
Cozy up in that pain translated,
Not the two pains the poet cites,
But the one that has been donated.

So entertain this for a start,
That with no way to get unstuck
This little toy train we call a heart
Spins and spins like it's caught in a rut.
pg. 20

Love, when you reveal it
Love, when you reveal it,
Has no idea how to be revealed.
It knows to look at her,
But doesn't know what to say.

Anyone who wants to say what they feel
Does not know how to say it.
Speak up: it seems like you're lying...
Shut up: it seems you've forgotten...

Oh, but if she figured it out,
If she could hear the look,
And if a look was enough for her
To know you're going to love her!

But those who feel deeply, shut up;
Those who want too say how much they feel
Are left with neither a soul nor having spoken,
Are left alone, entirely!

But if I could tell her
The thing I dare not tell her,
I wouldn't have had to speak to her
Because I'm about to speak to her...
pg. 24

[Océane Cardoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai adoré découvrir le travail de Pessoa. Mon père m'en parle depuis petite et pourtant, ce n'est que cette année au Portugal que j'ai décidé de découvrir son travail. Avec ce recueil traduit par Calvin Olsen, je me suis sentie sincèrement transportée. Une plume douce et qui évolue au court du recueil puisqu'on peut lire le travail de ses heteronymes Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis et Alvares De Campas.