“There are words that kiss us as if they had mouths…”
This is how one of the many poems by Alexandre O’Neill begins. I think what he might have meant was that there are words as sweet as kisses and that words are like gestures, acts, or movements, but in the form of lines that draw letters and fun with punctuation marks, for example.
In a time when it seems kisses are more written than given, telegraphic messages, fast and across various networks, we remind ourselves not to forget that there are Portuguese poets who, even if they don’t seem like it, are still alive and giving us words, verses, whole sentences that we never imagined existed and that are “words that transport us.”
Alexandre O’Neill, who would have turned 100 this year, and to whom we chose to dedicate this cycle, is so present in this present time that he is part of our days, even without us realising it.
Have you heard this phrase?
“There is sea and sea, there is going and returning”
It’s by Alexandre O’Neill. It might be the first Portuguese poem to become a proverb because it’s so irresistible, explaining the path of life so clearly and objectively, placing reason into heads, both big and small.
Or
WARNING
BEWARE OF THE DOG CUIDADO
EW OG
OG
OG
EW
EW
EWOG
EW
This visual poem sometimes appears in schoolbooks to explain that poetry, besides kissing as if it had a mouth, is also for the ears, and can be for the eyes, like a work of art – telling us how to read it.
To help us find more fitting words, we decided to draw inspiration from the work of Alexandre O’Neill, in poetry, advertising, plays, songs, and films, and organise a small programme with various voices, so that you can get to know this Portuguese poet a little better.
Here’s a bit of O’Neill for you.
Susana Menezes
Artistic Director
