Memória: An Anthology of Portuguese Canadian Writers, edited by Fernanda Viveiros and published in 2013 was an important debut collection that introduced, perhaps for the first time in English, Canadian writers of Portuguese origin or descent to the literary scene.

This new collection, featuring nonfiction, short stories, and poetry, also edited by Viveiros and published by her small Vancouver-based press, Arquipélago Press, brings back some familiar voices from Memória, but I was glad to see the introduction of new writers to what is becoming a growing body of literary work marking the presence of the Portuguese in Canada. Thanks to her efforts to bring together these various literary voices, we have the opportunity to get to know more writers of Canadian Portuguese heritage in Here & Elsewhere: An Anthology of Portuguese Canadian Writers, releasing this month.

It was a pleasure for me to open this anthology and discover the writers whose work graces its pages and bring a wide range of experiences and perspectives of what it means to be people of “here” and “elsewhere.”

“Inheritance,” Kelly Pedro’s short story of a father addressing his small daughter is a tender and moving epistolary-style writing that unfolds in an economy of words to reveal so much of his past and the legacy of that past that he wishes to pass on to his daughter with the hope that even though leaving the painful past behind, she could survive life on her own.

“Senhor Silva’s Last Ride” by Robert Piva Fielding, tells the story of an old man revisiting his past on a flight to his island of birth, revealing themes of disconnection, alienation, and eventual heartbreak. This story’s ending made me gasp for air with its powerful truth of a dying generation of immigrants replaced by the modern tourists who visit the islands but without roots tying them to memory and love.

José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço’s short story “I Will Always Love You, But Can I Pleaser Have My Stuff Back?” is a reminder that just because you have a Portuguese name or background, your literary efforts don’t necessarily have to have a Portuguese theme running through it to be included in this anthology. It’s just good writing.

“Pico,” by Richard Simas is another story on the ubiquitous theme of trying to make sense of what it means for newer generations of Portuguese living in the diaspora searching for connection with their ancient roots, in this case, Azorean. The final sentence of this short story reveals the painful longing for a connection with the ancient volcanic world that is now fragile and tenuous.

Irene Marques is a prolific writer, of both prose and poetry, already showcased in the Memória anthology.  This time, she graces the pages of this new anthology with “Letters from the War: The Natural Bust of the Portuguese.” Written in the epistolary style, lyrical and textured with the usual trademark of Irene’s exquisite writing.

Humberto da Silva’s piece, “Variations on a Drowning,” about a tragic mining accident and the telling of truth or a version of truth one can only bear in memory, is told in a tightrope walk of humour intertwined with seriousness that leaves the reader in both smiles and tears. It was good to read Humberto again after his contribution in the Memória anthology.

Esmeralda Cabral is a captivating memoirist and storyteller, exploring her Azorean roots with candor and insight both in her short stories and in her recent memoir about her family’s trip to Portugal.  For this new collection, her contribution is titled “Daughter of Lagoa.”  It’s a delightful telling of her visits back to São Miguel, the island of her birth—and mine also—and I enjoyed her observations on the meaning of language and local accents as a fundamental part of one’s identity; as something not to lose over time living in Canada, but consciously practicing it and passing it on to her children.

A new voice to the anthology is Sonia Nicholson, whose “Good Citizen” walks us through the tense bureaucratic nightmare of trying to obtain Portuguese citizenship from Canada. Told through a weaving tale of adventure and hope, Sonia tells an entertaining yet profoundly real experience that I have heard before from others who can confirm the veracity of this first-generation Portuguese Canadian in search of a cartão de cidadão as a way to reaffirm their belonging to the ancestral world of Portugal.

The last entry in Here & Elsewhere is fittingly paulo da costa’s essay, “Beyond Bullfights and Ice Hockey: An Architecture of Multicultural Identity.” It’s always a deep pleasure to read paulo da costa, both his fiction as well as his essays on identity and culture. His philosophical ponderings can be appreciated by anyone who has thought about who they are and what is their place in the world. His invitation and suggestion that those of us who have more than one identity embrace all of the self and be at one whether in Portuguese or in the Canadian lives we of these double identity try to make sense of.

Finally, I must say a few words about my own writing which is included in this company of writers. I am grateful to see in print, “Tia Catarina,” a retelling of a true moment and event in time that inspired me to elevate it into a memory in honour of my partner’s beloved Aunt, now forever anthologized in Here & Elsewhere.

I will end by mentioning the presence of the poets in this collection but I will leave it to others to do their own reflections on the powerful words of Sonja Pinto and Paul Serralheiro. Their poems entice the reader to enter imagined worlds best savoured through their own reading. For me, poetry is such a personal thing and I am not equipped to write about it, so I’ll leave it here.

I hope you will read this anthology. There’s something here for everyone to appreciate and discover: those of us who came from the old world to those of the newest generations, like my nieces and nephews who have grown up mostly Canadian but who need, and hopefully will want to, get to know the heritage of their families. It’s also a window to those who are not of Portuguese heritage but who are curious enough to get to know us through stories and words that reveal who we are.

Also posted in Filamentos (artes e letras)

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