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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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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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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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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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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A report into boys’ reading has found that three out of four UK schools are worried about... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones has today announced the next 12 titles in its quarterly Book Club, featuring four... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Heavy hitters across several industries have tried to find the perfect balance between the old and the new to breathe some life into what's been described as a dying medium. Layar "wants to make the world clickable" with its augmented reality software and doesn't plan on letting paper-based... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sony unveils a Harry Potter-based book, part-written by JK Rowling, as the first Wonderbook title for its Playstation console. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2012-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For book lovers, the summer is always a busy, exciting season, and this year is no exception. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CONDÉ NAST Publishing Director Bill Wackermann made a tempora-ry move to the other side of the desk by writing his first book, Flip the Script. The self-help guide is filled with examples from his years overseeing Glamour, but Mr. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2012-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nearly a third of British adults (31%) say they are likely to buy an ebook in the next six... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quindlen Krovatin (who happens to be her son) chats with the author about the book and the history behind it. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For all his contributions to children's literature, Maurice Sendak, who died Tuesday at 83, struck a chord with 'Where the Wild Things Are,' a dark and vivid adventure in a daunting world beyond a child's bedroom.When my son Noah was little — no more than 2 years old — his favorite book... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Reading Agency and the Publishers Association have launched a digital skills sharing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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All hail the ebook! Seriously, if it weren't for this marvelous literary development, try saying with a straight face that you wouldn't at least take pause before adding a new title to your collection. Numbers are in from The Publisher's Association -- a group of 120 companies across the trade... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Data gathered by Nielsen BookScan for The Daily Beast show many of the same titles are popular in American cities – but exceptions include 'Heaven Is For Real' and 'The Great Gatsby.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than 400 authors are scheduled over the two days at USC. Writers as varied as Anne Rice and Jeff Kinney will hold court.What do Sugar Ray Leonard, Judy Blume, Betty White, T.C. Boyle, Rodney King, Joseph Wambaugh and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have in common? They're just a few of the high-profile... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble wants you to take your e-reader to bed. The latest iteration of the Nook, revealed by the book retailer Thursday, is a black-and-white device with a softly glowing backlit screen. It is designed to solve a common problem that co ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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