Although Camilo Pessanha published only one collection, Clepsidra (1920), he is considered a leading figure in the world of Portuguese poetry. The well-known modernist poet Fernando Pessoa considered Pessanha a master of modern thought. His artistic originality contributed to the development of Portuguese literature not only within the premodern period of renovation (that is, Parnassian, decadent, and symbolist movements of the late nineteenth century) but also in the phase of Portuguese modernism that began in the early twentieth century. This important period of transition--from a state of decay to the introduction of modern aesthetics--fostered artistic innovation that defined the modern style in Portuguese letters.

Pessanha was heir to the name of an illustrious family: the founder of the eminent Genovese family by that name had taken a prominent position as admiral in the court of the Portuguese king D. Dinis in 1317. Camilo d'Almeida Pessanha's own life, however, was marred...