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 Daily Mirror is to run a We Love Reading campaign, backed by poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Reading Agency is to launch a Mood-boosting Books campaign, teaming up with Vintage and its... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The third volume of Chris Mullin's memoirs, A Walk-On Part (Profile Books), has been named... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Notes in the margins of ebooks could be the next platform for social interaction. At least that's what Amsterdam-based Openmargin is hoping. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Notes in the margins of ebooks could be the next platform for social interaction. At least that's what Amsterdam-based *openmargin is hoping. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yale University Press will be nosing around authors' bookshelves with the publication of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booked Up, the government-funded programme that gives a free book to Year 7 pupils, has found... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new social reading app called Subtext today launches on the iPad with a selection of books laden with annotations from authors and researchers. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Mon, 24/10/2011 - 08:05 The Government emphasis on reading for pleasure could be behind an uplift in sales to school libraries, claims bookseller Marilyn Brocklehurst of the Norfolk Children's Book Centre. She said: "The pronouncements by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One year after Charlesbridge acquired Imagine Publishing, founded in 2009 by former Sterling CEO Charles Nurnberg and his son Jeremy, Charlesbridge publisher Brent Farmer credits the purchase with growing the houses sales substantially. In addition to adding 20 childrens books a year to... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What better place to be the day after Amazon unveiled its $199 Kindle Fire tablet (plus three Kindle models starting at $79) than a conference on e-readers? Long scheduled for September 29 and 30 in San Francisco, Intertechs two-day eReaders 2011 conference offered an even better platform than... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 1999 San Francisco authors/journalists Jane Ganahl and Jack Boulware mused over drinks about getting together a bunch of authors for a big reading. They tapped Phil Bronstein, the editor of the San Francisco Examiner, to foot the $300 bill for 25 authors to read in Golden Gate Park for what... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 08:45 Zadie Smith, Jeanette Winterson, Blake Morrison and Mark Haddon are among the big names contributing to a Vintage essay collection described as a "mission statement about the paramount importance of reading to our quality of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 21/09/2011 - 09:05 The number of Americans using an ebook reader has almost doubled during the last 12 months, according to a new survery. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 19/09/2011 - 09:39 A primary schools project that has helped thousands of struggling young pupils to read is being axed by the government, according to the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT). The Reading Recovery Project involves... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Mon, 05/09/2011 - 08:10 People in Huntingdon and Cambridge buy the most books of any town or city in the UK, according to a list compiled by Amazon from its print and Kindle sales since the start of the year. Towns in Kent, Wiltshire and West Sussex... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As ebooks become popular, there are increasing opportunities to share and personalize the digital reading experience. That's where the upcoming Readmill iPad app and social network come in. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 22/08/2011 - 15:18 One in six children do not read a single book per month, according to a new survey by the National Literacy Trust. The research suggested the United Kingdom is polarised between those who do not read and the one in 10 children... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Steve Jobs was wrong. People love to read on the iPad. Lets hope newspaper publishers dont ruin it for everyone. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 08:34 Random House c.e.o. Dame Gail Rebuck has urged retailers to devote shelf space to the Galaxy Quick Reads promotion, as its 2012 line-up of authors is revealed. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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