Roberto Bolaño’s Tantrums, by Ilan Stavans

Essay “Literature was a vast minefield occupied by enemies,” Roberto Bolaño, who enjoyed accruing enemies in the pantheon of Latin American letters, writes in the short story “Meeting with Enrique Lihn” (New Yorker, December 22, 2008): except for a few classic authors (just a few), and every day I had to walk through that minefield, where any false move could be fatal, with only the poems of Archilochus to guide me. It’s like that for all young writers. There comes a time when you have no support, not even from friends, forget about mentors, and there’s no one to give you a hand; publication, prizes, and grants are reserved for the others, the ones who said “Yes, sir,” over and over, or those who praised the literary mandarins, a never-ending horde distinguished only by their aptitude for discipline and punishment—nothing escapes them and they forgive nothing. Aptitude for discipline and punishment Bolaño himself had aplenty, too. And in spite of his precarious health, he had stamina. At a young age, he had made up his mind he would die. Who cared if he annoyed others? His mission, as is clear from The Savage Detectives (1998), was to upend that tradition, to take it by the neck and expose its platitudes. What is the use of sacred cows if not to be desecrated? Indeed, every tradition needs an enfant terrible, maybe more than one. When was the last time a rabble-rouser came along in Latin American literature? As Bolaño put it in... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2022-02-28 21:05:10 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Roberto Bolaño’s Tantrums, by Ilan Stavans"

Sarah White obituary

Anti-racism activist and co-founder of New Beacon Books, Britain’s first specialist black bookshop and publishing companyThe veteran activist Sarah White, who has died aged 80, was for more than half a century a stalwart of initiatives dedicated to anti-colonialism, anti-racism and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-02-16 19:10:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this

The Guardian view on social media’s metaverse: it may remain science fiction | Editorial

The online virtual reality experience that almost every tech giant today wishes to commercially exploit may not catch onIn the 1992 sci-fi dystopia Snow Crash, the author Neal Stephenson imagined a bleak 21st century where the collapse of the global economy had seen governments fall and their... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-02-07 19:11:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Sites of Radical Possibility: The Best of 1970s and 80s Women-Authored Science Fiction and Fantasy

A late baby-boomer, I spent my tweens and adolescence in the 1970s under the Tolkien-woven spell of heroic fantasy, immersed in the imagined worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea trilogy (1968-72), Patricia A. McKillip’s Riddlemaster trilogy (1976-79), and Evangeline Walton’s Welsh-myth-remix... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-26 09:55:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Can Science Fiction Wake Us Up to Our Climate Reality?

Kim Stanley Robinson’s novels envision the dire problems of the future—but also their solutions. Continue reading at New Yorker

[ New Yorker | 2022-01-24 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

10 Books About Books for Serious Bibliophiles

From reads about lexicographers and bookshop employees to librarians, these books about books, including The Sentence, are for serious bibliophiles only. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-01-21 11:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Centenary recording of Ulysses to be read by Eddie Izzard, Margaret Atwood and others

More than 100 writers, artists, comedians and musicians will voice James Joyce’s seminal novel in celebration of its publication a century agoOne hundred years ago, in February 1922, Sylvia Beach, owner of the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company, published James Joyce’s Ulysses, in full, for... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-01-20 09:30:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Four times Shakespeare has inspired stories about robots and AI

Science fiction is full of computer programmes and androids who fall afoul of the plots of some of Shakespeare’s most brutal tragedies. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2022-01-14 13:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Indie bookshop numbers rise for fifth consecutive year, BA figures show

The number of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland has grown for the fifth consecutive year despite challenges brought by the pandemic, the Booksellers Association says. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-07 22:34:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this

The best books to read by the fire: Let’s talk about our favorites in science fiction and fantasy

Feeling nostalgic? Try ‘The Chronicles of Prydain.’ For something more modern, there’s ‘The Midnight Bargain. And so many more. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-01-03 23:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Book Riot’s SFF Deals for January 3, 2022

The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-01-03 13:53:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this

UK's first Black specialist bookshop New Beacon to close

The UK's first Black specialist bookshop is to shut its doors and move entirely online, as financial constraints jeopardise its future. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-28 16:05:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this

A Celebration of Series: The Best SFF Series of 2021

We're spotlighting some of the best science fiction and fantasy series concluded in 2021. Dive into them now, no waiting required! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-12-24 11:33:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Margate Bookshop raises £3k in books for schools drive

The Margate Bookshop has collected almost £3,000 to buy books for local schoolchildren with plans to run the fundraiser as an ongoing scheme alongside other independent bookstores, potentially as part of a charity. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-23 07:48:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this

The bookshop making a difference this Christmas

Newham Bookshop is giving over a thousand books to children and communities in need this Christmas. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2021-12-21 06:12:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Somerset indie Snug Bookshop forced to close after roof damage

An independent Somerset bookshop is being forced to close for good after Storm Arwen damaged the roof. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-20 01:26:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Croatian Publisher Fraktura and Its Bookshop: ‘To Present Quality Books’

Now in its second year, the publisher-owned Fraktura Bookshop serves as a hub of literary events and trusted recommendations in Zagreb. The post Croatian Publisher Fraktura and Its Bookshop: ‘To Present Quality Books’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-12-13 07:33:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Library audio and ebook loans in 2021 reveal unexpected stars

Alongside Richard Osman and JK Rowling, figures show huge successes for relative unknowns Ellery Adams and Brenda ChapmanThe UK’s library users are widely seen as a traditional bunch when it comes to choosing their next read, but while Richard Osman might have topped the list of the year’s... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-08 16:34:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this