The First Lusophone Author: A Palimpsest Named António Feliciano De Castilho

Abstract

ABSTRACT The poet António Feliciano de Castilho (1800–1875) sought to create a literary presence beyond the space of the Portuguese metropolis, sometimes in his own name, whereas on other occasions he resorted to the members of his circle, that formed in Portugal and its overseas territories a republic of letters. I will focus on two works by Castilho, Camões and A Felicidade pela Agricultura (1849), which point to a deliberate participation in the emergence of a literary scene in Macau and the Azores (1840s-1850s). The poet is one of the first Portuguese authors to have developed a publication plan that includes the colonial and insular territories of Portugal, a plan linked to the textual phenomenon of incorporating in his works texts by other authors of his group. The aim of this essay is therefore to investigate how the relationship of Portuguese literates from Romanticism to literate communities such as the Azores and Macao allows us to draw a different map of what would later be designated as Portuguese-language literature(s). The theoretical consequences to be drawn from this remapping will shed new light on the ‘formation’ of Portuguese-language literature(s) and also call for an urgent re-evaluation of Castilho’s oeuvre.