“That’s why I read, as a stranger,My being as if it were pages.Not knowing what will comeAnd forgetting what has passed,I note in the margin of my reading What I thought I felt. Rereading, I wonder: “Was that me?”God knows, because he wrote it.”
In this quote by Fernando Pessoa, the speaker reflects on the act of reading and how it allows them to see themselves as a stranger. They view their own being as if it were pages in a book, not knowing what will come next or remembering what has already passed. The idea of forgetting past experiences and discovering new emotions as they read is highlighted. The speaker's reflection on what they thought they felt and whether it truly represents them showcases the complexity of human emotions and the role of introspection in understanding oneself. Ultimately, the quote suggests a sense of divine intervention in shaping one's identity and experiences.
Fernando Pessoa's words remind us of how literature can serve as a mirror to our own identities, allowing us to delve into our inner thoughts and emotions. In today's digital age, where people often curate online personas and struggle with understanding their true selves, the act of reading can provide a much-needed space for introspection and self-discovery. By immersing ourselves in stories and diverse perspectives, we can better understand our own thoughts and feelings, ultimately leading to a deeper connection with ourselves.
"“That’s why I read, as a stranger,
My being as if it were pages.
Not knowing what will come
And forgetting what has passed,
I note in the margin of my reading
What I thought I felt.
Rereading, I wonder: “Was that me?”
God knows, because he wrote it.”
- Fernando Pessoa"
In the poem "That's why I read" by Fernando Pessoa, the speaker reflects on the act of reading as a way to understand themselves and their own emotions. The poem suggests that through literature, we can gain insight into our own inner thoughts and feelings.
“I don’t think I’m an exceptionally bad reader. I suspect that many people, maybe even most, are like me. We read and read and read, and we forget and forget and forget. So why do we bother? Michel de Montaigne expressed the dilemma of extensive reading in the sixteenth century: “I leaf through books, I do not study them,” he wrote. “What I retain of them is something I no longer recognize as anyone else’s. It is only the material from which my judgment has profited, and the thoughts and ideas with which it has become imbued; the author, the place, the words, and other circumstances, I immediately forget.” He goes on to explain how “to compensate a little for the treachery and weakness of my memory,” he adopted the habit of writing in the back of every book a short critical judgment, so as to have at least some general idea of what the tome was about and what he thought of it. ”
“I wrote a coded love note in my report for work. All the letters you need to read what I wrote are there—you just have to find them and rearrange the order until you’ve arrived at something romantic, and then you’ll have discovered what I wrote.”
“I never read the scripts at all carefully and never wanted to know what was going on, because i felt that being a benevolent alien, that's the way it should be”
“I don't know what I believe, Hazel. I thought being an adult meant knowing what you believe, but that has not been my experience.”
“Dad smiled. He put a big arm around me and pulled me to him, kissing the side of my head. “I don’t know what I believe, Hazel. I thought being an adult meant knowing what you believe, but that has not been my experience.”