Some words build bridges, and some words build homes.

The House of Many Shores is such a dwelling — a place where the Portuguese language, scattered by winds of history and tides of migration, gathers under one roof. From Lisbon to Luanda, from Rio to Maputo, from the Atlantic islands to the shores of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the Portuguese-speaking world carries a mosaic of voices: voices of longing and laughter, of exile and return, of memory and hope.

Two Poems from Augusto dos Anjos

Modern Buddhism

Here, Doctor, take these scissors… cut
My most exceptional persona…
Who cares if vermin should englut
My heart completely when I die?!

Alas! A vulture has alighted on my fate!
And the aquatic diatomaceae thither…
Their capsulated cryptogam will wither
On contact with that right hand’s weight.

So let my life disintegrate
The same as a decaying cell
A barren egg, aberrant birth;

But let this aggregate of longings dwell
and knock on the perpetual bars
Of the last line I write on earth!

A philosopher’s agony

I read the Phtah-Hotep, I read the obsolete
Rig-Veda. Yet  nothing gives me rest…
The Unconscious haunts me and I swirl possesed,
Restless harmattan in aeolian rage!

I’m witness here to an insect’s death!…
Alas! Now all phenomena of earth
From pole to pole seem to make real
Anaximader of Miletus’s ideal!

Atop the heterogeneous hieratic areopagus
Of Ideas I wander, a lost magus,
From Haeckel’s soul to souls of Cenobites!..

The thick veiling of secret worlds I tear;
And just like Goethe, I catch the sight:
Of universal substance ruling there!

Translated into English by Odile Cisneros

A Brazilian poet born in the city of Cruz do Espírito Santo, Paraíba, April 20, 1884. He was a very atypical person, with similarly atypical poetry that has been classified as Symbolist, Parnassian, and even pre-modernist. His work, since its publication, has been the subject of controversy amongst writers, being admired and despised by critics and laymen alike.

From Sibila-https://sibila.com.br/english/two-poems-2/2260

Vision

The House of Many Shores envisions a world where the poetry of the Portuguese-speaking universe — from Portugal to Brazil, from Africa to Asia, and across the diaspora — is heard, valued, and celebrated in English. By bridging continents through verse, the series aspires to create a shared cultural home where readers everywhere can experience the richness, diversity, and humanity of Lusophone voices.

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Mission

The mission of The House of Many Shores is to gather, translate, and publish the poetic traditions of the Portuguese-speaking world in English, making them accessible to a global audience. This series:

• Preserves and amplifies the literary heritage of Lusophone communities.
• Builds bridges across cultures, continents, and generations through the universal language of poetry.
• Honors diversity, showcasing voices from Portugal, Brazil, Africa, Asia, and the diaspora.
• Inspires a sense of belonging, offering the Portuguese-speaking diaspora in North America and beyond a lyrical return to roots while inviting all readers into a shared poetic home.

We thank the Luso-American Education Foundation for its support of this project