"Eloquent, volatile and obsessed with life—and death—(Pessoa is one of the) modernist giants in whose shadow we live and who made our century one of the extraordinary richness."— is Portugal's most important contemporary poet. He wrote under several identities, which he called heteronyms: Albet Caeiro, Alvaro de Campos, Ricardo Reis, and Bernardo Soares. He wrote fine poetry under his own name as well, and each of his "voices" is completely different in subject, temperament, and style.