Interviews Photo by Diane Picchiottino / Unsplash That Famous Abyss (Wunderkammer, 2020) is a book of exclusive interviews with Enrique Vila-Matas by cultural journalist Anna María Iglesia, covering such themes as why write, the places of literature, the art of disappearing, and the poetics of failure. The result is a text that is equally reflective as it is biographical and intimate, filled with the great names of literature and art alongside personal anecdotes and memories of the author. The following exchange appears in chapter 1, “Why Write?” Anna María Iglesia: Why do you write? Enrique Vila-Matas: Do I need to tell the truth? Iglesia: Of course not. In fact, this is not a biography. Vila-Matas: Much better, then. Iglesia: A few years ago, when asked this same question by a journalist, you answered: “In some remote time, some ancestor made that first loop. We are nothing but their imitators, a link in the uninterrupted chain of tradition. So the one who needs to be asked as to why I write is that ancestor; ask him why he wanted to move beyond that knot.”[i] Vila-Matas: Well, I imagine that finding that ancestor will prove impossible for you. I see it like someone who spoke in the name of God. As far as I can go, I think, is to try to speak in the language of poetry, that language without name. Look, in reality, I’ve spent my whole life unaware of why I write, to the degree that, when my parents died, I discovered in... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-11-29 21:46:44 UTC ]
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The book publishing industry is dealing with two conflicting trends at the moment: the number of individual titles produced continues to rise while the number of print units sold continues to fall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More Americans are discovering what I did, after buying the original iPad more than two years ago: Reading ebooks, magazines and newspapers on a tablet is an immersive experience and often much more satisfying than print. Today, comScore says that in August, two out of every five US tablet... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2012-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We asked our readers two years ago if they had read an enhanced ebook. Over half of survey respondents had not. Now, we're asking again. Take our survey and tell us if you've read an enhanced ebook. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Finns’ love of books has bolstered the publishing industry in spite of global economic challenges. Read our interviews with prominent Finnish publishing pros. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's author Jeremy Strong has launched a new national schools reading competition... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new survey found that more than 70 percent of parents still prefer print books to the iPad when it comes to reading to children. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Throughout its 17-year history, Amazon has helped change the way that books are sold, the format in which they’re read and how they are published. Now it could change how they’re written. In addition to the Kindle Fire HD and the Kindle Paperwhite, Amazon introduced a subscription book format... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Indian consumers haven't been cut off from Amazon's world of ebook goodies, but their experience is about to get a lot more native with the launch of a local Kindle Store. The prices of over a million books are now available in rupees, and if you're in need of hardware, the latest bare-bones... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Religion, bathroom routines and politics are three things you should never, ever discuss at the dinner table. However, if you're curious about your neighbors' political reading habits, then you should check out Amazon's Election Heat Map. The bookseller rated the top 250 books with a "clear... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you've ever been so embroiled in a chat or sharing splurge that you've been told to "take it off of Twitter," you now can -- sort of. Twitter co-creators Biz Stone and Ev Williams have launched Branch and Medium, two companion services that (naturally) use a Twitter sign-in but narrow the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is to broadcast an evening of readings by this year's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The story is about a criminal who wins the lottery, and the author has moved to America, land of the super PACs, so money is on his mind.Martin Amis, once dubbed "fiction's angriest writer," continues dissecting the absurdity and excesses of postmodern society in his latest novel, "Lionel Asbo:... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The basketball captain and father introduces a book series meant to encourage kids to pick up books and take control of their surroundings.NBA superstar Amar'e Stoudemire is so passionate about promoting literacy that he has a tattoo on his forearm that says "Read." This week, the 29-year-old... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former children's laureate Michael Rosen is leading calls by children's book authors and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Every summer, everyone and their uncle wants to tell you what to read at the beach. So as the summer hits mid-stride, at Jacket Copy, we've got another idea: the anti-beach reading list. Every summer, everyone and their uncle wants to tell you what to read at the beach. If they all had their... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Representatives from across the industry met yesterday (19th July) to discuss reading for... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble catches up to Amazon and Google with a Web-based ebook service. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We'd say it's about time. Although it's almost two years late to the party, Barnes & Noble is responding to Amazon's Kindle for the Web with Nook for Web. Much like its counterpart across the virtual aisle, the Nook web edition lets readers browse free samples and whole books entirely from a... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A single good-sized book will provide you with many hours of entertainment, it will make you think about some aspect of the world around you and make you reconsider that aspect a little. And even better, that single book can be acquired for practically nothing. Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2012-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than half of tablet adopters are reading books and other media on their tablet screens instead of relying on paper. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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