A CANON IS A LIST AND A CHOICE.
Editors: António M. Feijó, João R. Figueiredo and Miguel Tamen
We have chosen around fifty authors of Portuguese literature to include in this book, in addition to groups, schools, movements, important words, and magazines.
In this book, you will find many conflicting views about many Portuguese authors; many choices, many ideas, and many different shades. It is not a dictionary or a neutral guide to the history of Portuguese literature: it is a book of literary criticism to make us think about Portuguese literature.
‘Every choice is eccentric to some extent, and a canon is always a choice. The canon of Portuguese literature that we present here is no more eccentric than others, and the most notable choices and absences will have the advantage of drawing attention to the acquired habits of those who mourn those absences. […] As this book is not an exhaustive repository, there is no point in seeking the canon of Portuguese literature on its pages. Reading it as a neutral guide to the history of Portuguese literature, or as a political commemoration of its wonders is not a good idea. This is not a book about the splendour of Portugal, it is a book of literary criticism.’
- The editors of the book
