On March 21 at 4:30 PM, the Fundação Livraria Lello, in partnership with Editora Shantarin, invites you to discover a lesser-known yet deeply relevant facet of Portugal’s greatest poet.
In an era marked by cultural tensions, the book “O Sábio Árabe: Escritos Sobre a Civilização Arábico-Islâmica” emerges as an antidote to the idea of a “clash of civilizations.” This anthology, edited by Fabrizio Boscaglia, brings together key texts in which Fernando Pessoa—along with his heteronyms Álvaro de Campos and António Mora—explores the legacy of al-Andalus and the Islamic influence on the foundations of Portuguese and European identity.
It is an invitation to rediscover Pessoa through his dialogue with the East, within an encounter of civilizations that helped shape our own Portuguese identity.

My conscious way of being
Is a potentate of the Orient…
His garments are of costly silks.
In his turban there are rare stones.

On this World Poetry Day, we will read Fernando Pessoa, but not only. We propose an immersion into this Arab soul that inhabits our language.
Because poetry is not confined to the page; it is meant to be felt and lived.

Secure your place here