Gastão Cruz: witness of time

Abstract

Intertextuality is not just a dialogue tool in Gastão Cruz poetics, it is a fundamental aspect in his creative universe. In other words, the gastonian work is not properly understood if not in the light of other communicating voices with which it merges to form its own discourse. Therefore, this article describes how such poetics can be understood as an archive of modernity in Portugal, considering the articulation of the activities of poet and critic that Gastão performs. The image of the poet-reader is claimed to highlight how the critical reading procedures of the work of other authors can play a creative role in his own poetry. It is also discusses the nature of time and death in Gastão’s poetry, which leads us to a broader approach to the idea of archives.