Many Voices, One Poet: Fernando Pessoa in Singapore at NTU

As part of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Portugal, the Portuguese module of the Centre for Modern Languages, School of Humanities, NTU, in partnership with Editions Shantarin, was delighted to organise an interactive lecture on the many voices of Fernando Pessoa, one of Portugal’s most celebrated poets, alongside Luís de Camões.

The guest speaker, Sofia Lima, explored Pessoa’s most emblematic heteronyms, their distinctive worldviews and the musicality of Pessoa's poetry. Jean Ghesquière, CML Director, and Estelle Bech, Interim Portuguese Coordinator, facilitated the event.

The hybrid event took place on 23 October at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, with 20 participants attending in person and 12 online, thanks to the support of Johanna Metivier, who supervised this side of the event.

The event was graced by the presence of His Excellency Carlos Pires, Ambassador of Portugal to Singapore; His Excellency Alexandre Tillman, Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Singapore; João Vargas, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Brazil; Jon Wilson, Dean of COHASS; and Paulo Bartolo, Executive Director of the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP). Other distinguished figures of the Lusophone community in Singapore were also present.

The event was also supported by the Embassy of Portugal, the Portuguese Trade & Investment Agency (AICEP) and the Portuguese Association of Singapore.