It is something of a miracle that the writings of Fernando Pessoa, discovered in a suitcase, were exhumed. Now one of the most famous writers of the twentieth century, hardly any of his work was published in his own lifetime. In this ninth and final volume of the Uncertain Manifesto, we bear witness to the blossoming of not only the Portuguese poet, but also of his main heteronyms — Ricardo Reis, Alvaro de Campos, Alberto Caeiro and Bernardo Soares — whose oeuvres and biographies he crafted meticulously. We follow him from South Africa in his youth, to Lisbon, where he lived in the guise of a modest clerical worker. But who is really hidden behind the façade of a drab, unassuming character who had just one – platonic and unhappy – love affair?

Shifting away from biographical mode, the author then invites us to join him on his own adventures in Africa – including the Sahara, the USA, the People’s Republic of China, and various eastern European countries. This Manifesto comprises three distinct parts: With Pessoa, Memories and Emergency Exit. Three distinct voices, intertwining biography and autobiography, narration and introspection.