Lusophone Verses - An interview
José Manuel Quintas and Manuel Vieira da Cruz
[ José Manuel Quintas and Manuel Vieira da Cruz, "Lusophone Verses - An interview with the editors of Sardinha's poems", by Mariano Navarro, The European Conservative, Issue 36, Autumn 2025, pp. 56-59. ]
Summary
José Manuel Quintas and Manuel Vieira da Cruz, motivated by their academic and personal connections to António Sardinha and the Integralismo Lusitano tradition, aimed to make his poetry accessible for new generations by publishing a centenary edition. Sardinha’s works, shaped by Portuguese and international literary influences, balance deep emotional resonance with a strong political vision critical of conventional party politics.
INTERVIEW
If I had never heard of Sardinha, what would you tell me about his work and its importance in Portuguese literary history?
- For those interested in Portuguese 20th century literature, I would say that António Sardinha (1887-1925) is undoubtedly a key figure. He was one of the founders in 1914 of the movement 'Integralismo Lusitano', and a lasting influence both culturally and politically. Please allow us to make an important remark: ‘Integralismo’ should not be misspelled nor confused with ‘integrism’.
Sardinha was a poet, historian, essayist, polemist, and an influential thinker.
He died prematurely, at 37, but his writings encompass three dozen books produced within 15 years of intense activity.
Some of these were published posthumously, by his friends and followers, but the content was previously published in journals, newspapers and magazines.
Sardinha and the Integralismo Lusitano group reacted against the decadent intellectual environment of their times, following the example given in the last quarter of the 19th century by the ‘1870’s Generation’ (Antero de Quental, Oliveira Martins, Eça de Queirós, Ramalho Ortigão...): writing, publishing, organizing conferences, and acting politically.
They strongly criticized the Republican regime (founded after the Revolution of October 5th, 1910) and wanted to restore not only the Monarchy but other traditional Portuguese institutions, duly adapted to the 20th century.
How does António Sardinha fit into the broader panorama of Portuguese intellectual history? What place does he occupy in the Olympus of national heroes?
- The first steps of António Sardinha as a very young poet may be seen as strongly influenced by 'late-romanticism', 'decadentism' and 'symbolism'. He will soon overcome this stage and in 1910 publish Tronco Reverdecido ('greened trunk') and, in 1915, Epopeia da Planície ('epic of the plain').
Meanwhile, after a period of turning away from religion, he returned to the Catholicism of his parents and his ancestors, and an authentic reconversion took place. Almost
simultaneously, he abandoned the 'republicanism' of his 'salad days' in the last years of the Monarchy and became a convinced monarchist during the very early Republican revolutionary period. He rediscovered tradition, refuted decadence, and studied to dismantle the historical prejudices that had accumulated during the 19th century and the ready-made ideology that contaminated the intellectual environment. His next book of poetry also has a very significant title: Quando as Nascentes Despertam ('when springs awaken').
As an essayist, António Sardinha was very attentive to the most recent intellectual production abroad. He read everything, and critically. And his writings were a work in progress: he wrote under the pressure of intervention, but was always willing to reconsider his own statements and produce a definitive work, after a patient and quiet revision.
António Sardinha is a good example of someone conscientious of his responsibility towards the political community and the urge to intervene. He just acted accordingly.
What can you tell me about his poetry? What makes it stand out, what makes it worth reading, studying, and meditating on?
- António Sardinha's poetry is profoundly rooted in the Portuguese tradition. Anyone who is familiar with Portuguese literature and history since its beginnings in the 12th century will not have a particular difficulty to understand it. It is very clear, vivid, rhythmic and harmonic. Furthermore, it connects you immediately with the Portuguese homeland and the values of Greco-Latin and Christian Civilization.
António Sardinha is a poet of the countryside, someone who was born in Monforte and married a woman from Elvas, both places very close to the Portuguese border with Spain. This circumstance is reflected in the scarcity of references to the sea, which is striking in a Portuguese poet. On the contrary, you will find the biblical theme of the sword that becomes a plow (Isaiah 2,4; Micah 4,3). You will also find the relationship with Spain: in Sardinha's prose, mainly, it evolves towards the defense of a dialogue and alliance with the neighboring country, although never ever a ‘union’, neither a ‘federation’, nor a ‘fusion’.
Sardinha lived in exile, in Spain, for a couple of years, after the failed coup of January 1919 (the 'Monarchy of the North'). In the poetic production of this period one can see how he suffers the absence of his country (Na Corte da Saudade. Sonetos de Toledo) and of his wife (Chuva da Tarde. Sonetos de Amor). Another book collects his elegies to his only son, who died as a baby.
Two other books in verse were published posthumously: Roubo de Europa ('the abduction of Europe') and Pequena Casa Lusitana ('this small Lusitanian home'), named after a stanza of Camões, The Lusiads (VII.14): "There are not wanting deeds of Christian daring from this small Lusitanian home..."
This last collection of verses from Sardinha can be read as a 'macrotext' and, besides The Lusiads, it would be interesting to read it together with Fernando Pessoa’s Mensagem, or even modern Brazilian poems such as Jorge de Lima’s Invenção de Orfeu, and Invenção do Mar, by Gerardo Mello Mourão.
How did you both get involved in editing and preparing this book? What was the motivation?
- This was a rather old project. We both were familiar with António Sardinha's works, including his poetry. José Manuel Quintas studied his work for academic purposes and authored a book entitled Filhos de Ramires, about the origins of Integralismo Lusitano; in that process, he became a friend and disciple of Mário Saraiva (1910-1998), Henrique Barrilaro Ruas (1921-2003) and Teresa Martins de Carvalho (1928-2017), intellectual heirs of Integralismo Lusitano. Manuel Vieira da Cruz, when he was 20, decided to organize several conferences to celebrate the Centenary of Sardinha's birth and later became a friend and disciple of Henrique Barrilaro Ruas. We were brought together by Mário Saraiva and poet António Manuel Couto Viana (1923-2010) and we both feel the duty to transmit to the next generations the best of such a heritage. That’s why we endeavour to coedit the website 'Estudos Portugueses' (www.estudosportugueses.com).
The poetry of António Sardinha was falling into oblivion, as it was scattered in out-of-print books, often difficult to find even in good libraries and second-hand booksellers. We thought that publishing this collection at an affordable price would be an appropriate way to commemorate the Centenary of Sardinha's death.
Which poem or group of poems is your favorite? Why?
- It is certainly not easy to choose one or two among the hundreds that compose this book, as many are very touching for different reasons.
Sardinha naturally loved and sang his home, his native province and his country, whose soul was projected throughout the World. Poems like 'Vesperal' (p. 483), a poem that he regularly read to his wife, by the fireplace; 'Letreiro' (p. 133); and 'Roubo de Europa' (pp. 533-541)... all of them express beautifully those loves we have mentioned.
If you asked us which poem would we suggest to be translated into English in the first place, we would propose the last we have mentioned, 'The Abduction of Europe'. It would fit perfectly in this magazine.
What do you know about Sardinha in the context of world literature and in comparison with the poetic traditions of other countries?
- Sardinha's poetry was influenced in his early youth by Symbolism, something typical of the late 19th century and the early 20th. He admired and contacted one of its main exponents in Portugal, Eugénio de Castro (1869-1944). Soon, he returned to ancient Portuguese roots, namely the medieval poetry collected in the 'Cancioneiros'. He also admired Renaissance poets such as Sá de Miranda, maybe before Camões. A strong influence was exerted by the main Romantic poet, Almeida Garrett (1799-1854), and the traditional 'Cancioneiro'. In consequence, Sardinha has been seen as a 'Neo-Romantic'. He was attentive to the poetic traditions of other countries: you can find traces of Wolfram von Eschenbach, Dante, Shakespeare, the Castilian king Alfonso X the Wise, and Garcilaso de la Vega.
He was a reader of contemporary French authors: above all, he was aesthetically influenced by Maurice Barrès, namely by his novel La coline inspirée. But in the epigraphs of Sardinha's poetry you will also find quotes from Théophile Gauthier, Lammenais, Charles Maurras, Ollé-Laprune, Abbé Delfour, Edmond de Goncourt, Alfred de Vigny, J.M. Heredia, Léon Daudet, Paul Bourget, Joseph Lotte...
Is there a political dimension to Sardinha that readers should be aware of? Too often, people think that all artistic and creative types are left-wing; can we think of Sardinha in such crude political terms (right or left)? Or does he somehow transcend the political sphere?
- António Sardinha considered the politics of ideological parties to be a sham serving financial oligarchies. He advocated for broad national representation based on organic democracy: municipalism and trade-unionism. He envisioned a political future free from the ideologies of the 'left' and the 'right'.
Have you read Sardinha in other languages? Do any of them capture his spirit? How much is lost in translation?
- As far as we know, Sardinha’s poetry is practically undiscovered in other languages. Like any other poet, it will not be easy to translate. But maybe that is a challenge worth undertaking.
Today, who are the greatest experts on Sardinha's life and work?
- Sardinha's friends, such as Hipólito Raposo and Luís de Almeida Braga, or disciples such as Rodrigues Cavalheiro and, later on, Mário Saraiva and Henrique Barrilaro Ruas knew perfectly his work as a whole. Lately there have been academic works in Portugal, but also in other countries (Spain, France, Brazil) that study specific aspects of his life and work. To single out only one, we would certainly recommend the comprehensive essay by José Carlos Seabra Pereira that we have published in this volume, together with Sardinha's poetry.
- For those interested in Portuguese 20th century literature, I would say that António Sardinha (1887-1925) is undoubtedly a key figure. He was one of the founders in 1914 of the movement 'Integralismo Lusitano', and a lasting influence both culturally and politically. Please allow us to make an important remark: ‘Integralismo’ should not be misspelled nor confused with ‘integrism’.
Sardinha was a poet, historian, essayist, polemist, and an influential thinker.
He died prematurely, at 37, but his writings encompass three dozen books produced within 15 years of intense activity.
Some of these were published posthumously, by his friends and followers, but the content was previously published in journals, newspapers and magazines.
Sardinha and the Integralismo Lusitano group reacted against the decadent intellectual environment of their times, following the example given in the last quarter of the 19th century by the ‘1870’s Generation’ (Antero de Quental, Oliveira Martins, Eça de Queirós, Ramalho Ortigão...): writing, publishing, organizing conferences, and acting politically.
They strongly criticized the Republican regime (founded after the Revolution of October 5th, 1910) and wanted to restore not only the Monarchy but other traditional Portuguese institutions, duly adapted to the 20th century.
How does António Sardinha fit into the broader panorama of Portuguese intellectual history? What place does he occupy in the Olympus of national heroes?
- The first steps of António Sardinha as a very young poet may be seen as strongly influenced by 'late-romanticism', 'decadentism' and 'symbolism'. He will soon overcome this stage and in 1910 publish Tronco Reverdecido ('greened trunk') and, in 1915, Epopeia da Planície ('epic of the plain').
Meanwhile, after a period of turning away from religion, he returned to the Catholicism of his parents and his ancestors, and an authentic reconversion took place. Almost
simultaneously, he abandoned the 'republicanism' of his 'salad days' in the last years of the Monarchy and became a convinced monarchist during the very early Republican revolutionary period. He rediscovered tradition, refuted decadence, and studied to dismantle the historical prejudices that had accumulated during the 19th century and the ready-made ideology that contaminated the intellectual environment. His next book of poetry also has a very significant title: Quando as Nascentes Despertam ('when springs awaken').
As an essayist, António Sardinha was very attentive to the most recent intellectual production abroad. He read everything, and critically. And his writings were a work in progress: he wrote under the pressure of intervention, but was always willing to reconsider his own statements and produce a definitive work, after a patient and quiet revision.
António Sardinha is a good example of someone conscientious of his responsibility towards the political community and the urge to intervene. He just acted accordingly.
What can you tell me about his poetry? What makes it stand out, what makes it worth reading, studying, and meditating on?
- António Sardinha's poetry is profoundly rooted in the Portuguese tradition. Anyone who is familiar with Portuguese literature and history since its beginnings in the 12th century will not have a particular difficulty to understand it. It is very clear, vivid, rhythmic and harmonic. Furthermore, it connects you immediately with the Portuguese homeland and the values of Greco-Latin and Christian Civilization.
António Sardinha is a poet of the countryside, someone who was born in Monforte and married a woman from Elvas, both places very close to the Portuguese border with Spain. This circumstance is reflected in the scarcity of references to the sea, which is striking in a Portuguese poet. On the contrary, you will find the biblical theme of the sword that becomes a plow (Isaiah 2,4; Micah 4,3). You will also find the relationship with Spain: in Sardinha's prose, mainly, it evolves towards the defense of a dialogue and alliance with the neighboring country, although never ever a ‘union’, neither a ‘federation’, nor a ‘fusion’.
Sardinha lived in exile, in Spain, for a couple of years, after the failed coup of January 1919 (the 'Monarchy of the North'). In the poetic production of this period one can see how he suffers the absence of his country (Na Corte da Saudade. Sonetos de Toledo) and of his wife (Chuva da Tarde. Sonetos de Amor). Another book collects his elegies to his only son, who died as a baby.
Two other books in verse were published posthumously: Roubo de Europa ('the abduction of Europe') and Pequena Casa Lusitana ('this small Lusitanian home'), named after a stanza of Camões, The Lusiads (VII.14): "There are not wanting deeds of Christian daring from this small Lusitanian home..."
This last collection of verses from Sardinha can be read as a 'macrotext' and, besides The Lusiads, it would be interesting to read it together with Fernando Pessoa’s Mensagem, or even modern Brazilian poems such as Jorge de Lima’s Invenção de Orfeu, and Invenção do Mar, by Gerardo Mello Mourão.
How did you both get involved in editing and preparing this book? What was the motivation?
- This was a rather old project. We both were familiar with António Sardinha's works, including his poetry. José Manuel Quintas studied his work for academic purposes and authored a book entitled Filhos de Ramires, about the origins of Integralismo Lusitano; in that process, he became a friend and disciple of Mário Saraiva (1910-1998), Henrique Barrilaro Ruas (1921-2003) and Teresa Martins de Carvalho (1928-2017), intellectual heirs of Integralismo Lusitano. Manuel Vieira da Cruz, when he was 20, decided to organize several conferences to celebrate the Centenary of Sardinha's birth and later became a friend and disciple of Henrique Barrilaro Ruas. We were brought together by Mário Saraiva and poet António Manuel Couto Viana (1923-2010) and we both feel the duty to transmit to the next generations the best of such a heritage. That’s why we endeavour to coedit the website 'Estudos Portugueses' (www.estudosportugueses.com).
The poetry of António Sardinha was falling into oblivion, as it was scattered in out-of-print books, often difficult to find even in good libraries and second-hand booksellers. We thought that publishing this collection at an affordable price would be an appropriate way to commemorate the Centenary of Sardinha's death.
Which poem or group of poems is your favorite? Why?
- It is certainly not easy to choose one or two among the hundreds that compose this book, as many are very touching for different reasons.
Sardinha naturally loved and sang his home, his native province and his country, whose soul was projected throughout the World. Poems like 'Vesperal' (p. 483), a poem that he regularly read to his wife, by the fireplace; 'Letreiro' (p. 133); and 'Roubo de Europa' (pp. 533-541)... all of them express beautifully those loves we have mentioned.
If you asked us which poem would we suggest to be translated into English in the first place, we would propose the last we have mentioned, 'The Abduction of Europe'. It would fit perfectly in this magazine.
What do you know about Sardinha in the context of world literature and in comparison with the poetic traditions of other countries?
- Sardinha's poetry was influenced in his early youth by Symbolism, something typical of the late 19th century and the early 20th. He admired and contacted one of its main exponents in Portugal, Eugénio de Castro (1869-1944). Soon, he returned to ancient Portuguese roots, namely the medieval poetry collected in the 'Cancioneiros'. He also admired Renaissance poets such as Sá de Miranda, maybe before Camões. A strong influence was exerted by the main Romantic poet, Almeida Garrett (1799-1854), and the traditional 'Cancioneiro'. In consequence, Sardinha has been seen as a 'Neo-Romantic'. He was attentive to the poetic traditions of other countries: you can find traces of Wolfram von Eschenbach, Dante, Shakespeare, the Castilian king Alfonso X the Wise, and Garcilaso de la Vega.
He was a reader of contemporary French authors: above all, he was aesthetically influenced by Maurice Barrès, namely by his novel La coline inspirée. But in the epigraphs of Sardinha's poetry you will also find quotes from Théophile Gauthier, Lammenais, Charles Maurras, Ollé-Laprune, Abbé Delfour, Edmond de Goncourt, Alfred de Vigny, J.M. Heredia, Léon Daudet, Paul Bourget, Joseph Lotte...
Is there a political dimension to Sardinha that readers should be aware of? Too often, people think that all artistic and creative types are left-wing; can we think of Sardinha in such crude political terms (right or left)? Or does he somehow transcend the political sphere?
- António Sardinha considered the politics of ideological parties to be a sham serving financial oligarchies. He advocated for broad national representation based on organic democracy: municipalism and trade-unionism. He envisioned a political future free from the ideologies of the 'left' and the 'right'.
Have you read Sardinha in other languages? Do any of them capture his spirit? How much is lost in translation?
- As far as we know, Sardinha’s poetry is practically undiscovered in other languages. Like any other poet, it will not be easy to translate. But maybe that is a challenge worth undertaking.
Today, who are the greatest experts on Sardinha's life and work?
- Sardinha's friends, such as Hipólito Raposo and Luís de Almeida Braga, or disciples such as Rodrigues Cavalheiro and, later on, Mário Saraiva and Henrique Barrilaro Ruas knew perfectly his work as a whole. Lately there have been academic works in Portugal, but also in other countries (Spain, France, Brazil) that study specific aspects of his life and work. To single out only one, we would certainly recommend the comprehensive essay by José Carlos Seabra Pereira that we have published in this volume, together with Sardinha's poetry.
"Lusophone Verses - An interview with the editors of Sardinha's poems" (PDF)
