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THE TEAM
CONTACT
His posthumously published synthesis Cultura [Culture] (1993) is also noteworthy, in which he explains his most personal views on the theme with laconic precision from a clearly anthropological perspective. Crónicas [Chronicles] (2006) is also recommended to the readers of this note, a compilation of his most varied texts dispersed among different publications of a periodical nature with hundreds of surprising pages.
And, finally, his impressive correspondence published under the title António José Saraiva, Óscar Lopes, Correspondência [António José Saraiva, Óscar Lopes, Correspondence] (2004) notably illustrates decades of his vast political and cultural interests. In the correspondence he exchanged with Óscar Lopes he pursued a vibrant, dense, occasionally belligerent dialogue which, in addition to revealing unknown dimensions of his unique philosophical and critical prowess, also shed light upon other unrevealed circumstances of his life, which may often have been precarious and anguished but always intellectually combative. A compelling dialogue indeed. Both interlocutors were connected by a steadfast friendship in a complex intellectual affinity characterised by convergences and divergences. Both were major figures of the country’s 20th century political and cultural scene, and in their extraordinary correspondence their approach to issues was so intense that at times they appeared to be on the verge of dramatically severing the affectionate ties that bound them. The publication of that book owes much to the efforts of the late historian Leonor Curado Neves, who transcribed and annotated the text and authored a subtle introductory synopsis to A.J. Saraiva’s thinking and work.
And to conclude this note, reference must be made to Saraiva’s prominence in the national literary scene. Very few contemporary writers can boast such cultivation of the Portuguese language, as briefly mentioned above, the prose of A. J. S. was unique in its quality of communication and aesthetics. His writing was characterised by graceful fluidity, lexical propriety, harmoniously balanced syntax, and reflected, didactic use of figures of speech. It is writing that inexorably attracts and charms the reader. So much so that, in reading one of his texts we encounter a multifaceted scholar charmed by the high voltages of the philosophical and aesthetic debate, by political activism while remaining equally attentive to the performative dimension of the very act of writing. All of this without prejudice to any doctrinal tension vested therein.
