Reflections In The Mirror: Writing To Find All The Writers In Me
Dear reader, sorry to keep you waiting, I know it’s already Thursday, and I’m not catching up with my schedule, thanks to all this voices tapping into my writing by proxy.
It’s 7 AM here in my beloved “old Lusitania,” time to stretch these crampy writing muscles and put the creative juices flowing.
I feel my writing is smoking hot today as I engage my hyperdrive while sipping the first-morning espresso.
Buckle up, and let’s recall Margo Channing’s witty charm as we go in for a bumpy ride to the outskirts of the creator’s mind.
Once again,
called the shots prompting us to be more relational. Her piece resonated, and I responded by raising my game to meet the Write Here Challenge — Week 3 on Creators Hub.
‘What’s the Motto With You?!’
Those that follow my writing journey have grown accustomed to my bohemian style. At the end of the day, after the dust settles, I’m an iconoclast vagabond who loves to travel to unsuspected places within unforeseen creative realms.
Writing to Find The Surrogate Writers in Me!
This is my maxim, my mantra, and my anathema all-in-one. The primordial inspiration came from the Bible, namely Mark 5:1–20, the verses that mention how Jesus restored a demon-possessed man.
My Name is Legion
Jesus was crossing the region of the Gerasenes when “He got out of the boat, and a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.”
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.¹
I found this passage from the Bible a long time ago. It immediately had a heartfelt impact on me as it resonates with how I envision the literary personae that dwell inside me.
For We Are Many
Further down the road, I found Fernando Pessoa’s poetry and the Portuguese author’s polyhedric vision of a depersonalized-self impacted my literary personality.
I am the interval between my desire and what the desires of others have made of me.
In the verses mentioned above, Pessoa tackles his poetic conundrum regarding literary depersonalization using the voice of the heteronym, Álvaro de Campos, the modernist alter-ego.
However, to understand the full scope of Pessoa’s heteronyms and the creative process behind his alter-egos, you should read the poet’s letter to his friend, and literary critic, Adolfo Casais Monteiro dated January 13, 1935. This letter holds the explanation regarding the origins of some of Pessoa’s most prominent heteronyms: Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis, and Álvaro de Campos.
Be that as it may, the mental origin of my heteronyms lies in my organic and constant tendency toward depersonalization and simulation. These phenomena — fortunately for me and for others — have mentalized themselves in me; I mean, they do not manifest themselves in my practical, external life of contact with others; they explode inwardly and I live — the self alone with myself.
Reading the words of Portugal’s greatest poetic demiurge from the twentieth century, I can relate to everything Pessoa mentions regarding the genesis of his heteronyms.
Since childhood I have tended to create a fictitious world around me, to surround myself with friends and acquaintances who never existed.
Pessoa had many imaginary friends during his childhood. He created his first heteronym at the age of six and called him The Chevalier de Pas. Fernando was a lonely child, his father and brother had died, and he was all alone like I was during those first years of my life.
The Surrogate Writers
Fernando created a second life in another world, and I followed him along that path, building new imaginary realms where I could play within my thoughts without leaving the household's boundaries.
My pen name was simply Legion for many years, but pop culture took over, first with a movie in 2010 later with a TV series in 2017. Legion went back to the land of the Gerasenes, as I decided to go by my real name, which is quite long, hence ideal for conceptual symbolism and literary amplification.
Rui Alves is only a part of my full name at birth (1st and 4th). Back in 2020, I was going by Rui Carneiro (1st and 5th). Thinking about how I’m currently writing mainly in English, I went for a shorter, diphthong-free version. Moreover, “Alves” is also a subliminal reference to the small town I’m from, which holds the toponym Aves (no typo here).
Final Thoughts
I’ve lived many lives on paper; a few of those have moved on to the virtual realm of bits and bytes, however within me, there’s an all-new Genesis waiting for the Big Bang. These voices talk to me about love, ideas, culture, the future… Occasionally, they even talk among themselves about my true self.
Thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to join me during this writing streak of my journey through the labyrinth, I hope to see you again further down the road, so we can take a break in our quest to reconnect with the world and ourselves at the crossroads of life.
Reference: The Biblegetaway.
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