Anna M. Klobucka - O Mundo Gay de António Botto

This essay re-evaluates the literary figure of António Botto as an exceptional phenomenon for his time, a writer who, from the early 1920s onwards, courageously produced and openly circulated (in magazines and books accessible to the general reading public) a homoerotic poetic discourse unprecedented not only in the Portuguese context, but also in the European and global context.

"The Gay World of António Botto" seeks to rescue and dignify Botto's memory in the face of his established historical-literary reputation as a "minor poet," even considered "mediocre" by many, emphasizing the extraordinary character of his cultural work. Botto managed to rise from humble social origins and establish himself as an important protagonist in the Portuguese literary scene thanks to his profoundly original writing, whose artistic and social merit was recognized by many who supported him in his trajectory—with particular emphasis on Fernando Pessoa—and which deserves to be affirmed even in contemporary times.