SPECIAL COLLECTIONS – HERBERTO HELDER

“It wasn’t until I was forty-five that I started an unmovable library. And only with it did I maintain a relationship of continuous knowledge. I have to talk about this knowledge because it is the basis and gives meaning to the very existence of this intimate daily collection of books […]”. These words are by Herberto Helder (1930-2015), and appear in an unpublished text, kindly provided by his family.

Known for his innovative and complex poetry, the Portuguese poet, writer and translator, is considered one of the most important and influential figures in 20th-century Portuguese literature.

Herberto Helder is one of the pioneers of Portuguese experimental poetry and has had his own private library since 1973.

He was personally committed to the preservation of this library, wrapping the books in kraft paper and writing the title and authorship of the books on the outside.

Most of the works also bear Herberto Helder’s autograph signature on the title page, while others have a dedication from their authors to him. Herberto Helder’s contributions to periodicals and collective works are also included in this library.

After the author’s death, his heirs expressed the wish that his personal library be made available to the public in one of Lisbon’s public libraries.

On 23 November 2022, the day the poet would have turned 92, the Herberto Helder Room in the Palácio Galveias Library opened to the public.

The 8,000 or so titles in his personal collection, and the shelves that house them, are arranged in the same way the author arranged them in his home.

The author characterises the library as “[…] fluent, like any other organised library. But its fluency does not come from, for example, the onomastic order of authors, the thematic organisation or genres, or periods or movements and schools, or even languages. Fluency comes from much more intimate elements […]”

Still in the poet’s words, the library contains “[…] paperback books, most of them, no rare editions, many French editions, my own authors, translations that nobody reads, Portuguese classics that no one can decipher (it seems like a foreign language to most people), poets, fiction writers, essayists from before the 20th century, ignored authors, ignored cultures, or so visible that they burn your eyes – this is my library, not a few thousand volumes, not a huge library. In any case, it’s too many books to carry around for a lifetime […]”