Coffee and Poetry

— Besides the historical connection between Portugal and Brazil, I have to admit my bookwormish side. In graduate school, I studied Brazilian and Portuguese literature. In addition to running into places connected to our historical characters, there were also the writers I studied in graduate school. In addition to Camões, Fernando Pessoa is the other writer I most admired. Therefore, being in Lisbon and going to some of Pessoa’s hangout places was beyond what I had anticipated.

The first photo here was made in the interior of Café A Brasileira. Located in the Chiado district of Lisbon, this café was famous for being a place where famous intellectuals, writers, and poets would come for authentic Brazilian coffee. There is even a bronze statue of Fernando Pessoa outside the café. All the mirrored walls, wooden booths, brass fittings, and that long oak bar are still the same as they were in 1905 when Café A Brasileira opened its doors (its entrance is shown below).

Another Pessoa hangout was the Café Restaurante Martinho da Arcada (bottom photo). Located at the Praça do Comércio, this café is the oldest café still in operation in Lisbon. It first opened in 1782, and it is also credited as the place where Pessoa wrote some of his famous poems in “Mensagem” and “Livro do Desassossego.” So, yes, I sat down and enjoyed the atmosphere as my mind wandered back in time. We sat right under the sign with Fernando Pessoa’s image in the photo below.