An interesting news item from one of the roving cronistas at Ñ, who attended a session of last week’s Ibero-American Festival of New Narrative in Ushuaia, Argentina – aka “the end of the Earth” (have you ever seen anything more beautiful?). “It may be,” begins Andrés Hax, that the most interesting question one can ask … More Alan Pauls is a liar.
The National of Abu Dhabi just published Scott Esposito’s review of El congreso de literatura (The Literary Conference), which was covered here last week. In it, Esposito also makes some interesting observations about what makes Aira’s work so appealing. Here’s a taste: Aira is indeed an author who loves to keep multiple balls in the … More Reasons other people love César Aira
A freight train, laden with would-be immigrants to the United States, lumbers resolutely north through Mexico, a tableau of impoverished rural towns stretching out to either side. We know that these are images of human struggle in the face of oppressive conditions, but we can’t help but notice how beautiful the landscape is, how striking … More Sin Nombre, but with a Hollywood sensibility
Mario Bellatin loves this story. I can tell because he has started repeating himself, going back over the details. It is the story of how he came to write Perros héroes: the loss of a faithful canine companion, the recommendation of a friend, the drive to the outskirts of town to meet with a respected … More Writing off the page with Mario Bellatin
Okay, okay. Enrique Vila-Matas is from Barcelona, which is not exactly part of Latin America. But I’ll make an exception to my extremely staunch editorial policy to mention that his latest novel, Dublinesca, was just released by Seix Barral – and has already been slated for publication in English in 2011 by New Directions (US) … More The Literary Dreamscapes of Enrique Vila-Matas
Of all the writers I am excited to see translated from the Spanish, César Aira is one of my very favorites. Aira, who has penned over 50 novels, is known for a writing style he characterizes as a “huida hacia delante” – a flight forward. According to Aira, he writes a page or two per … More Reason No.273 I love César Aira
So, I am going to break with tradition a bit and write about a panel I attended yesterday Friday on the future of reading in the digital age, part of the PEN World Voices Festival. Panelists Ben Okri, Alberto Ruy Sánchez, Thomas Pletzinger and Sergei Sokolovskiy (whose outlandish pronouncements brought a welcome element of performance … More Learning to read (at PEN World Voices)
Heather Cleary 