Science

Fic(on and Fantasy in Portugal

Álvaro de Sousa Holstein

It has been thirty years since I first spoke of Portuguese science fic(on and
fantasy abroad, in Montpellier’s Eurocon to be exact. Since then, out of all the (mes
that I have spoken of these genres, I have always tried to contribute with new
informa(on.

Much like the rest of Europe, mediaeval fantasy has a strong representa(on in
Portugal, be it through popular folklore, Languedoc Occitanium influence, the coming
of troubadours, or even through the Portuguese Royal House’s upbringing, with its
primordial story going as far back as the Burgundy duchy. Strong highlight goes to kings
D. Afonso III and his son D. Dinis.

Not quite as common as the examples laid out above, if not even original, is
the existence of a tax over mermaids and other sea creatures which we will find
men(oned in Urbis Olisiponis Descrip/o (1554),by Damião de Goes, where one can
read: “In the kingdom’s old archives, whose head I administer, there is a document
most ancient which is a contract between king Dom Afonso III and the Grand Master of
the Knights of SanBago, Paio Peres; in such document it is determined that the tribute
of mermaids and other animals angled on the shores of the same Order should be paid
not to the master of the Order, but to the kings themselves. Considering mermaids were
issued with a law, one can conclude they were frequent upon our shores”.

Many other stories withdrawn from oral folklore described fabulous beings
and worlds different from our own, stories these which were compiled in the book 0
Povo Português, nos seus costumes, crenças e tradições, in 1885, by Teófilo Braga.

It is, therefore, strange that Portuguese fantasy is found nearly amiss from
the end of the XIX century all the way into the 1980s.

1
 To understand this predicament, the Portuguese case during this era must be
contextualized in (me and space.

Ever pressured by the Catholic Church’s poli(cking campaigns since (me

immemorial, Portugal maintained a (ght Orwellian vigilance over all things which came
to be, lest these discoveries or literary pieces endangered the social stability, or be`er
yet, shook the un(l then unques(onable faith in the Divine. A form of Thought Police
thus came into existence – The Inquisi(on – which placed upon its Index, amidst other
pieces, the works of Cyrano de Bergerac and arrested Bartolomeu de Gusmão, also
known as The Flying Priest, creator of the Barcarola; the Portuguese people developed
a behavior reflex before all things new. S(ll, the spirit which permi`ed us to be the
people responsible for the XV and XVI century discoveries in Africa Asia and America
lived on, allowing us to discover new mari(me venues and con(nents for the western
world, and had in Father Himalaya (Manuel António Gomes by name, 1868-1933) one
of its greatest manifestos in his “Pyreliophorus”, precursor of solar energy, in 1904. It
was that very same ability to withstand adversity which allowed us to persevere during
(mes of consecu(ve repression, climaxing with a 45 year dictatorship which saw its
end only in April 1974, and with it, the fragmenta(on of the last western empire.

With the near disappearance of all fantasy writers, as it was men(oned

above, it was to be expected that science fic(on could not sow its seeds in Portugal,
yet, such an outcome did not take place by and large due to heavy French culture
influence and the appearance of material writ by English and French writers on the
na(onal market. Thus, authors such as André Laurie, Jules Verne, Eduard Bellamy and
H. G. Wells saw their work published in Portuguese, with the consequences of such an
event taking very li`le (me to reveal them.

We can mark O Que Ha De Ser o Mundo no Anno Tres Mil by Sebas(ão José
Ribeiro de Sá, 1859, as the first piece of na(onal science fic(on, the very same one
which inaugurated the Portuguese proto science fic(on to be exact. It is a “Portuguese
styled” version of Émile Souvestre’s Le Monde Tel qu’il Sera, originally published in
Paris, 1846, with 2004 being the mark of its first edi(on in the English language. In it,
we will find his vision of a future society, a vision maintained in the Portuguese version

2
in spite of its profound altera(ons to the text, adapted to the country’s social
paradigm. It is also worth men(oning O Balão aos Habitantes da Lua, José Daniel
Rodrigues Costa’s poem, from 1819, which tells us of a voyage to the moon and contact
with the Selenite’s. Yet, the piece which can effec(ve and unequivocally be called
exclusively Portuguese is António Peixoto do Amaral’s Os habitantes do Planeta
Saturno, 1886, also being, as far as it is known, the fourth wri`en work which
addresses the contact between the people of Earth and Saturn’s inhabitants and one of
the first to talk about contact with the people of Neptune just as well. Curiously
enough and beyond its fic(onal counterpart, it is also one of the very first in the world
where one could truly talk about “hard science fic(on”, were such a term in existence
by the (me it was both writ and published. A fine por(on of the ac(on and events
described within is chaperoned with scien(fic explana(ons with the intent to add an
extra layer of believability to the en(re piece with such profuse detail one would be
hard pressed not to deem it a physicochemical guide.

Many other works followed through in the coming years, such as Cândido de
Figueiredo’s Lisboa no Anno Três Mil, 1892, and Melo de Matos’s Lisboa no Ano 2000,
1906. Meanwhile, the genre which had already seen its proper defini(on of Science
Fic(on granted by the hands of Hugo Gernsback added José Nunes da Ma`a’s História
Autên/ca do Planeta Marte to its repertoire of literature under the French pseudonym
of Henri Montgolfier in Lisbon, 1921, which spoke of a very advanced Mar(an
civiliza(on, a cycle’s closure equally worthy of the (tle of “hard science fic(on” much
like Os habitantes do Planeta Saturno.

Inescapable just as well is the work done under alternate history, equally
known as “What if...”. Pieces such as Campos Monteiro’s Saúde e Fraternidade, 1923
and its sequel may be found within this subgenre, with the la`er being a retort of sorts
to Roquete de Sequeira e Costa’s Deus guarde a V. Exª…, 1924. Definitely the first
“alternate stories” in the Portuguese literature, the first book tells us how the royalists
regained power by defea(ng the Republic which had, meanwhile, acquired the likeness
of a soviet regime, with the second being a plot twist in itself, telling us of the
Republican’s victory over the Royalists and their return to the seats of power. It is also
curious to note the fact that Campos Monteiro’s work was published in 1923 yet

3
displayed 1993 on its front cover, projec(ng it into the future with a touch of mystery
added to it.

Amílcar de Mascarenhas’ A.D. 2230 comes to us at the very end of the 1930s,
bearing the necessary requirements to be considered true science fic(on. Incongruent
and improbable, Amílcar presents himself as the Portuguese “Doc” Smith, inaugura(ng
a series of science fic(on novels perfectly framed in the era of the Space Operas and
the Pulp magazines, with this example in par(cular being in complete collusion with
the old fascist regime which had only just begun to set its roots (1926). It tells us of
how the Portuguese Empire, patriarchal and governed by a duumvirate, defeats the
European and American Empires, both contras(ngly Matriarchal in nature, through the
use of the 7α Destruc(on Ray. The plot climaxes with the pacifica(on of the en(re
world under the banner of the Portuguese Empire, with the duumvirate married with
the plenipoten(ary European and American duo. For the next two decades, the 1940s
and the 1950s to be exact, novels such as Luís de Mesquita’s Mensageiro do Espaço
and Ameaça Cósmica come along, with Alves Morgado’s O Construtor de Planetas e
outras histórias and A Morte da Terra swiu in tow, all more or less in line with
Amílcar’s work. Manuel S. Teixeira’s Viagem ao século XXX is also published around
this (me frame, along with Samuel Maia’s História maravilhosa de Dom Sebas/ão
Imperador do Atlân/co, a tale which tells us of how King Sebas(ão did not died during
his north African campaign, in Alcácer-Quibir, thus becoming the Emperor of the
Atlan(c as a consequence of his victorious conquest of Moorish lands.

Pitching more for the bizarre is R. S. Fontes’ By the candle light. Tales of
Mys/cal Fancy, Bombay 1942, complimented by great names such as Lord Dunsany,
Somerset Maugham and Walter de La Mare. Special highlight also goes to Lorenzo Di
Poppa’s Os Úl/mos Homens da Lua, published in the city of Porto, 1945, writ in Italian
yet never published as such, its Portuguese transla(on being the commercial version
instead.

By the end of the 1950s, with Neo-Realism as the current literary trend, a
series of novels closer to what was being produced in Anglo-Saxon countries reached
public hands.

4
 Vieram do Infinito, by Eric Prince1, published in 1955, shows us the
Portuguese science fic(on’s with alien beings external to the Solar System, beings
these which come in Earth’s aid, in order to save it from a nuclear cataclysm. The
Portuguese science fic(on’s transi(on from sub-genre to sub-genre occurred with
rela(ve swiuness, skipping the BEMS - bug-eyed monsters – children eaters and rapists
of fine women – en(rely, preferring, instead, to portray extraterrestrials as friendly
en((es. This swiu evolu(on may perhaps be a`ributed to Portugal’s science fic(on
community’s rela(ve seclusion from outside influence, reserved only for a scarce few
ini(ates in the genre. A different enough alternate reason may be found in Portugal’s
different approach towards contact with the unknown and the strange, a fact which
seeped itself into literary culture by consequence.

One may, of course, venture the chance that this qualita(ve leap is due
en(rely to the nigh ten year hiatus of literary work of any kind if it is preferred, not
with the absolute lack of evidence to support an otherwise perspec(ve. However, such
an explana(on would always be at fault for being far too simplis(c, for it implies the
Portuguese science fic(on stood u`erly absent of self-sustenance and rela(vely
unimportant when placed in comparison with what was being produced abroad. A
great deal of work produced in Portugal further demys(fies this thought process with a
na(onal literary dimension of its own, such as Karel Külle’s2 three space operas, Bula
Matari; Objec/vo, Marte and Tigres no Céu, published in 1959, as well as O Úl/mo
Imperador do Cosmos by Saturnino Freyre3, published in the same year in
Mozambique, a Sebas(anic themed piece which tells us of how Dom Sebas(ão
performed interdimensional travel, was met like a god and made Emperor of the
inhabitants of Chronos, an Alpha Centauri planet, all the while striving to give his all to
return and defeat the Moors in Alcácer-Quibir. Special highlight also goes to two tales
by Lima da Costa, in 1957, published on the Swiss magazine Ailleurs.

Published in 1959, Porto, Romeu de Melo’s AK. A tese e o Axioma confronts

us with the resurgence of the XVIII century’s philosophic novels with the touch of a
cultural anthropologist of our (me, launching the seeds which would one day give birth
to the dawn of the Portuguese sci fi of the 1960s.

5
 In this decade, a significant amount of work sprouts in Portugal, namely: four
novels, one space opera, two juveniles, two poetry books, four compila(ons and one
anthology. Highlight goes to the novels Crónicas do Tempo do Cavaleiro Charles e do
seu fiel Escudeiro Pompidouze by Miguel Barbosa which presents us with a new
version of Dom Quixote, this (me of Briton descent; Vergílio Mar(nho’s 0 Grande
Cidadão, an Orwellian novel; and last but not least, Em busca de Outros Mundos by
Oliveira de Fontemar4, a space voyage and adventure beyond our galaxy. We also
witness the appearance of the Portuguese science fic(on abroad with Seymour Kopf5’s
Spoilers of the Moon, a space opera published in England.

Meanwhile, two new pieces were published, namely the beau(ful Canopus
98 collec(on by Carlos Mou(nho, and the Terrestres e Estranhos anthology, assembled
by Robert Silverberg and Lima Rodrigues, which amidst names such as Algis Budrys,
Arthur C. Clarke, Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Damon Knight e Harlan Ellison, also
includes Portuguese authors such as Natália Correia, Dórdio Guimarães, Fernando
Saldanha, Hélia, Lima Rodrigues, Luís Campos e Manuela Montenegro, some of which
being consecrated members of the Portuguese mainstream. The 60s were also the
(me when the first science fic(on and fantasy club makes its appearance, with
members such as Romeu de Melo, Lima Rodrigues, Natália Correia e Lima da Costa
amidst its roster. The first essay on science fic(on was also published during this
decade by a Portuguese author in Moçambique, writ by R.A.F. Castel-Branco under the
(tle of A Ficção-Ciendfica na literatura, no cinema, na rádio e na televisão e sua
projecção em Portugal e no Brasil.
There existed, un(l then, three science fic(on collec(ons in Portugal: Argonauta,
Ulisseia-3C and Antecipação - Galeria Panorama.

It is not at all infrequent for the slightest of movements to put a definite end
to the inert and the lethargic. As such, Portuguese science fic(on con(nued to grow
throughout the 70s, with four novels published, along with one poetry book, nine
collec(ons, three anthologies, one essay6 and one cinematographic script. Amidst this
group we find the Antologia do Conto Fantás/co Português, organized by E. Melo e
Castro, Contos do Gin-Tonic and Casos do Direito Galác/co. 0 InquietanteMundo de

6
Josela (fragmentos) by Mário Henriques Leiria (with the la`er being composed by five
«exemplar cases presented for analysis in the Galac(c Law Degree for mixed federa(on
students (Mankind of the 1st Stellar Agglomerate, in the Regional University of
Aldebaran 3»), also Não lhes faremos a vontade by Romeu de Melo. Romeu de Melo’s
book was obligatory study work in the Portuguese Literature Degree 73/74, taught by
Timothy Brown e Leo Barrow, in Arizona University, Tucson, with some of its content
published in Belgium on the Idées... et Autres magazine.

To the 70s we add nothing further in order not to overextend ourselves,

leaving further, an in depth analysis for future work.

We believe that in (me the 80s will be considered, in what concerns

Portuguese-origin science fic(on, the magical époque in which science fic(on in
general ceased to be malign in nature, acquiring for itself a healthier connota(on
which reflected itself in seven collec(ons launching over sixty (tles per year in the
book market alone, 96% of these being Anglophone authors and only a scarce 1.5%
being Portuguese, percentage this which displayed a significant increase in the na(onal
author publishing, regardless of its remarkably small scale in comparison.

Consequently, I am sure you will ask just what exactly do the 80s have that is
so special.

This decade revealed itself to be remarkable by and large due to the

appearance of na(onal authors which con(nued their work for the next ten years,
more work was published than during the previous hundred years, with the act of
publishers placing enough material on the market ensuring author’s edi(on no longer
stood the sole viable solu(on. The first science fic(on publica(ons made their
appearance in Portugal, coun(ng the Nebulosa fanzine, the professional magazine
Omnia amidst its numbers, with the la`er publishing pieces by Portuguese sci fi
authors in almost all of its eleven issues, ending up having its own dedicated sec(on
exclusive to fantasy and science fic(on. The first Portuguese Science Fic(on and
Fantasy Associa(on was born. The first work dedicated to the Portuguese science
fic(on and fantasy was published, en(tled Bibliografia da Ficção Ciendfica e Fantasia

7
Portuguesa, which received the European Science Fic(on Society award in 1987,
Montpellier. Last but not least, the Caminho de Ficção Cien]fica award also came into
existence, las(ng all the way un(l the end of the 1990s.

Such a plethora of work and events confirm, we believe, that the 80s were
indeed excep(onal, with eleven novels reaching the stands, one poetry book, five
collec(ons, two anthologies (one of which composed exclusively by female writers -
Fantás/co no Feminino, 1985), three newspaper special supplements, fiuy four tales
and one bibliography. To complement this we add the three ar(cles published abroad
in Japan, Spain and Holland, the three tales published in France and Canada, and one
poem in the North American anthology Showcase 7, along with the presenta(ons of
congressional communica(ons in Portugal and abroad regarding Portuguese science
fic(on and fantasy.

A very par(cular trait of the Portuguese science fic(on and fantasy’s issuing
stands out in the fact that many are (ed to mystery literature due to the lack of a
dedicated publisher, demonstra(ng a tremendous culture of solidarity betwixt genres
considered to be of lesser importance.

It is also during this decade that the very first Fantasporto – FesAval
Internacional de Cinema FantásAco do Porto takes place, in 1981. Now on its 37th
edi(on and responsible for three science fic(on and fantasy anthologies, it displayed
science fic(ons movies, fantasy and horror from all corners of the world for roughly
sixteen years before it became just another cinema(c fes(val lacking a proper theme.
Not even the fact the Variety magazine considered it one of the best themed movie
fes(vals in the world was enough to resist the tempta(on to ul(mately turn itself into a
generalist version of its former self.

With this boom now past, all expecta(ons turned to the 1990s, with the hope
of the acceptance of the authors and Portugal’s science fic(on community along for
the ride. The reality, unfortunately, turned out to be quite different, with the total
count of published work being remarkably less when placed for comparison with the
previous decade’s. The publishing of the Catálogo de Ficção Ciendfica em Língua

8
Portuguesa, 1921-1993, Brazil, shows us a rather bleak reality, with only fiueen novels
and soap operas, twenty four tales, eight collec(ons and three anthologies (with
special highlight going to the first luso-brazillian science fic(on anthology,O Atlân/co
tem duas margens, organized by José Manuel Morais) counted as the total numbers of
that which came out during such a decade, finding amidst its score the Bibliografia da
Ficção Ciendfica e Fantasia Portuguesa reedi(on, no longer an author’s edi(on and
the first coauthor (tle between a Portuguese and a Brazilian writers, the la`er being
Roberto César do Nascimento, one of the CLFC’s (Clube de Leitores de Ficção Cien•fica)
founders in Brazil, s(ll in existence and con(nuing to publish the Somnium fanzine,
where many a Portuguese author saw their work published over the years.Special
men(on also goes to Manuel da Costa, who created a collec(on science fic(onally
exclusive. In it, he published four novels, all of which related to Portugal in some
fashion, with parBcular highlight going to El-Rei Desejado cavalga ondas de Luz, which
blends longing and the sebas(anic myth with (me travelling, going so far as presen(ng
calculous as a means to explain how it could be done.

In spite of the drop in the publishing of works by Portuguese authors and

science fic(on and fantasy in general, it is noteworthy to highlight the Cascais Science
Fic/on Mee/ngs (1996-2001), which managed to gather a significa(ve number of fans
and na(onal writers alike along with foreign writers from a total of eleven countries on
its first edi(on, giving birth to the publishing of four bilingual anthologies and the
crea(on of yet another science fic(on associa(on, Simetria, in 1997, which came to
last for roughly eight years’ (me. During such a period, the Paradoxo magazine came
into existence, failing to put an end to the con(nuous loss of crea(ve and publishing
rhythm, leading instead to a cycle of setbacks which only just begun to show signs of
reversal. These setbacks can, perhaps, have their fault a`ributed to sectarianism and
internal wars when all condi(ons were met, leading to the end of the MeeBngs and to
the fragmenta(on of the fandom and authors, along with the curious and unfortunate
fact that none of these interna(onal gatherings had any relevant expression abroad,
with much the same being said about the author\fandom’s par(cipa(on in
interna(onal congrega(ons with the Eurocons or Worldcons.

9
 Be that as it may, one must not fail to men(on that in these two decades of
1980 and 1990 respec(vely, a ranging group of Portuguese mainstream authors such as
Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, Teolinda Gersão, Luísa Costa Gomes, António
Vitorino d’Almeida, Maria Teresa Horta, Mário de Carvalho, João Aguiar and Nuno
Júdice published pieces of work which, in spite of the shiu in genres, are clearly fantasy
and science fic(on themed.

In the editorial field, things were much the same, producing considerably less
than what was issued in the 60s, showing li`le more than an increase of a`empts to
divulge events regarding the genre for their efforts and a single anthology under the
name of The Dedalus Book of Portuguese Fantasy (1995/1999) published in England.
Adding to the list of events above is O Encontro sobre Mundos Alterna/vos, organized
by the Casas de Fronteira e Alorna Founda(on (1992) and the mee(ng dubbed
Encontro de Ficção Ciendfica, in Aveiro, 1995. The closing in of Issues which normally
would not include science fic(on as a theme stands an important enough event to
men(on, with the pres(gious Vér/ce magazine finding itself amidst its numbers,
publishing an exhaus(ve ar(cle with Portuguese science fic(on as its central theme,
authored by Teresa Sousa de Almeida7.

The first XXI century decade presents itself as a bleak phase no longer by and
large due to Harry Po`er’s phenomenal literary hit, with this work vastly shaped by the
author’s stay in the city of Porto, as well as the influence that the city and a local
centenary library - “Lello” of name - had in its concep(on, influence this clearly seen in
the way the Hogwarts library is conceptualized within its pages. This phenomenon lead
to the crea(on of an age related niche in the Portuguese culture, allowing publishers
which normally would not allow science fic(on and fantasy to print work composed by
young authors for an infant-juvenile crowd. Styled auer what took place during the 90s,
many mainstream authors diverged from their comfort zone and took to fantasy and
science fic(on for their novels and soap operas. Names like João Aguiar stand out,
along with those of Mário de Carvalho, Rui Zink, Miguel Real, Ana Paula Tavares,
Gonçalo M. Tavares, João Tordo or José Eduardo Agualusa. Half way through this
decade we find the very first Fórum Fantás/co in 2005, a forum which s(ll takes place
to this day and bears eleven edi(ons to its name. In 2006 we find the As Sombras

10
sobre Lisboa, published by Saída de Emergência worthy of note, along with the
importance that the fandom in general had in the crea(on of various fanzines such as
Dragão Quân/co, Hyperdrivezine, Phantastes, Nova, Dagon, Fénix, Bang!, and Conto
Fantás/co. 2007 also marks the crea(on of the bibliographical science fic(on, fantasy
and horror website, en(rely in Portuguese, named Bibliowiki by its creator Jorge
Candeias. It remains ac(ve to this day, sinning perhaps only with its upda(ng delays.

This leads us to the decade we presently find ourselves in. Marked by a dual
a`empt to revive the fandom and appearance of old\new authors alike, it manifests
itself in the con(nual of the Fénix fanzine and the Dagon, Conto Fantás/co, Bang!
magazines; the appearance of the Lusitânia, Trëma and ISF - Interna/onal Specula/ve
Fic/on fanzines, with the la`er en(rely wri`en in English; the publishing of the Fénix
and Ficções Phantas/cas anthologies, the Almanaques Steampunk and Nanozine
magazine’s issues dedicated to to fantasy and science fic(on; also EuroSteamCon and
Fórum Fantás/co’s ini(a(ves; colloquiums made by Academia such as Mensageiros
das Estrelas (Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa), SCI-FI LX (Ins(tuto
Superior Técnico – Lisboa) and the SYFY Scien/fic Review (Faculdade de Ciências da
Universidade do Porto), MOTELX – Fes/val Internacional de Cinema de Terror de
Lisboa’s cinema fes(val, editorial projects such as Imaginauta and Divergência and
their anthologies, the Adamastor digital project and, last but not least, Fantasy & amp;
Cº, a pla„orm\website for short fic(on stories.

Once again, the vast majority of the produc(on is composed of short fic(on
stories, with the novelty being the fact a good score of its numbers was laid out in
digital form, not out of choice, but simply because it was easier due to the use of
resources such as the internet and its rela(vely low cost. On the other hand, we are
limited to a single collec(on on the professional field, the Bang! collec(on to be exact,
published by Saída de Emergência and the sporadic removal of work outside of the
collec(on or published by vanity press.

Accompanied by the interna(onal trends, four dystopias were published in

the last five years: Luís Corredoura’s Nome de Código Portograal (2013), 1974 by Filipe
Verde (2015), the Úl/mo Europeu by Manuel Real (2015) and Paulo Varela Gomes’ A

11
guerra de Samuel (2017), with the first two also being incorporated in the alternate
history sub-genre. The reprint of the Terrarium and Galxmente also took place,
recurring the publishers in detriment of new material.

Equally crucial for the divulgence of science fic(on and fantasy have been the
Mostras bibliográficas de ficção ciendfica e fantasia, co-organized by Marcelina Gama
Leandro and already in their fourth year in the ci(es of Porto and Albergaria-a-Velha. It
is also worth men(oning that the most recent ini(a(ve to divulge the work done by
Portuguese authors abroad took place with the digital edi(on, offered to all who
partook in the Eurocon 2016. It included Fénix’s short fic(on anthology in English, with
twenty four tales amidst its pages.

I will not resist the tempta(on to bring conclusion to my words exactly as I

have for thirty years and coun(ng.

If the Portuguese science fic(on suffers from any malady it is without a

shroud of a doubt that of a lack of publishing effort, for in everything else it is every bit
as much like the European science fic(on that Gianfranco Viviani described so well in
the 1986 Eurocon in Zagreb:

«… they (European authors) don’t produce material with the necessary requirements
(like the American authors) to please the rushing, absent minded reader. »

Presuming that Gianfranco Viviani is right, and we believe it so, we will have
to conclude that the Portuguese science fic(on is on the farthest reaches that
European fic(on can allow, not only due to its complexity but also because it is simply
not accessible enough to the reader who merely intents to amuse him or herself.

For closure’s sake, it is impera(ve not to forget that «… ce que séduit dans la
science fic(on, c’est l’ampleur et la voca(on d’ irrèvèrence», much like it was said by
Romeu de Melo in an interview to Imagine, a Canadian magazine in the 1980s.

12
©Álvaro de Sousa Holstein, U.Con\Eurocon 2017, Dortmund, Alemanha, Junho 2017.

©João Eduardo Morais, 2017, pela tradução.

__________________________
1 Pseudónimo de A. Maldonado Domingues.

2 Pseudónimo de Carlos Sardinha.

3 Pseudónimo de Fernando Ferreira.

4 Pseudónimo de José de Oliveira.

5 Curiosamente é publicado em língua inglesa, lançado em Londres, mas a editora é nacional.

6 Sousa, Maria Leonor Machado de, O “horror” na literatura portuguesa, Lisboa, Editorial Novaera, 1978.

7 A ficção cien•fica em Portugal: Desenho de um território, na antologia Na Periferia do Império: Fronteiras. Cascais, Simetria, 1998.

13