I also like what Sergio González Rodríguez is doing.
Mexican poet, novelist, playwright, and essayist Carmen Boullosa (b. 1954) was highly regarded by Bolaño. An essay he wrote about her, entitled “Biena y la sombra de una mujer,” appears in
Entre parentesis
, forthcoming in English from New Directions. She is also the co-host of a respected Spanish language television program,
Nueva York
.
Writer and editor Álvaro Enrigue (b. 1969) is a postmodernist Mexican writer. None of his major works have been translated into English, but a short story, “On the Author’s Death” is collected in the
Best of Contemporary Mexican Fiction
.
Mexican fiction writer, editor, and essayist Mauricio Montiel Figueroa (b. 1968) is one of the most lauded Mexican writers under forty. He has written several collections of short stories and a number of critical essays for various periodicals. See
Points of Departure: New Stories from Mexico
, 2001.
Along with Jorge Volpi and others, Mexican novelist and short story writer Ignacio Padilla (b. 1968) was a member of the “Crack Generation” that attempted to break the production of magical realism.
Shadow Without a Name
(2003),
Antipodes
(2004).
Mexican novelist and short story writer Sergio Pitol (b. 1933) was awarded the Cervantes Prize in 2005 for his work
El mago de Viena
(2005).
MM: Is the world without remedy?
RB: The world is alive and no living thing has any remedy. That’s our fortune.
MM: Do you have hope? For what and for whom?
RB: My dear Maristain, again you push me toward the land of bad taste, which is not my native land. I have hope for children. For children and warriors. For children who fuck like children and warriors who fight like brave men. Why? I defer to the headstone of Borges, as the illustrious Gervasio Montenegro of the Academy (like Pérez-Reverte, do take notice) would say, and let us not speak of this matter further.
MM: What kinds of feelings do posthumous works awaken in you?
RB: Posthumous: It sounds like the name of a Roman gladiator, an unconquered gladiator. At least that’s what poor Posthumous would like to believe. It gives him courage.
Mexican historian and cultural critic Carlos Monsiváis (b. 1938) is considered one of the foremost authorities on Mexican history and politics. See
Mexican Postcards
, 1997.
Mexican novelist Paco Ignacio Taibo II (b. 1949) is a best-selling author. His major works include the “Hector Balascoran Shayne” detective series, available in English, along with other works.
Mexican journalist Sergio Gonzáles Rodríguez (b. 1950) wrote
Huesos en el desierto
(2002), a penetrating look at the femicides plaguing Cuidad Juarez.
Gervasio Montenegro was a member of the Argentine Academy of Letters. It is also the name of a fictitious character created by Borges and Bioy Casares.
MM: What is your opinion about those who opine that you will win the Nobel Prize?
RB: I am sure, dear Maristain, that I will not win it, as I am sure that some lazy person from my generation will win it and not even in passing mention me during his or her Stockholm speech.
MM: When were you the happiest?
RB: I have been happy almost every day of my life, except for short periods, including during the most adverse circumstances.
MM: If you hadn’t been a writer, what would you have been?
RB: I should like to have been a homicide detective much better than being a writer. I am absolutely sure of that. A string of homicides. I’d have been someone who could come back to the scene of the crime alone, by night, and not be afraid of ghosts. Perhaps then I might really have become crazy. But being a detective, that could easily be resolved with a bullet to the mouth.
MM: Do you confess to having lived?
RB: Well, I continue to live, to read, to write and to watch films, and as Arturo Prat said to the suicides of Esmeralda, “While I am still alive, this flag will not come down.”
A Chilean naval officer, Arturo Prat (1848-1879) is a
Mexican poet, novelist, playwright, and essayist Carmen Boullosa (b. 1954) was highly regarded by Bolaño. An essay he wrote about her, entitled “Biena y la sombra de una mujer,” appears in
Entre parentesis
, forthcoming in English from New Directions. She is also the co-host of a respected Spanish language television program,
Nueva York
.
Writer and editor Álvaro Enrigue (b. 1969) is a postmodernist Mexican writer. None of his major works have been translated into English, but a short story, “On the Author’s Death” is collected in the
Best of Contemporary Mexican Fiction
.
Mexican fiction writer, editor, and essayist Mauricio Montiel Figueroa (b. 1968) is one of the most lauded Mexican writers under forty. He has written several collections of short stories and a number of critical essays for various periodicals. See
Points of Departure: New Stories from Mexico
, 2001.
Along with Jorge Volpi and others, Mexican novelist and short story writer Ignacio Padilla (b. 1968) was a member of the “Crack Generation” that attempted to break the production of magical realism.
Shadow Without a Name
(2003),
Antipodes
(2004).
Mexican novelist and short story writer Sergio Pitol (b. 1933) was awarded the Cervantes Prize in 2005 for his work
El mago de Viena
(2005).
MM: Is the world without remedy?
RB: The world is alive and no living thing has any remedy. That’s our fortune.
MM: Do you have hope? For what and for whom?
RB: My dear Maristain, again you push me toward the land of bad taste, which is not my native land. I have hope for children. For children and warriors. For children who fuck like children and warriors who fight like brave men. Why? I defer to the headstone of Borges, as the illustrious Gervasio Montenegro of the Academy (like Pérez-Reverte, do take notice) would say, and let us not speak of this matter further.
MM: What kinds of feelings do posthumous works awaken in you?
RB: Posthumous: It sounds like the name of a Roman gladiator, an unconquered gladiator. At least that’s what poor Posthumous would like to believe. It gives him courage.
Mexican historian and cultural critic Carlos Monsiváis (b. 1938) is considered one of the foremost authorities on Mexican history and politics. See
Mexican Postcards
, 1997.
Mexican novelist Paco Ignacio Taibo II (b. 1949) is a best-selling author. His major works include the “Hector Balascoran Shayne” detective series, available in English, along with other works.
Mexican journalist Sergio Gonzáles Rodríguez (b. 1950) wrote
Huesos en el desierto
(2002), a penetrating look at the femicides plaguing Cuidad Juarez.
Gervasio Montenegro was a member of the Argentine Academy of Letters. It is also the name of a fictitious character created by Borges and Bioy Casares.
MM: What is your opinion about those who opine that you will win the Nobel Prize?
RB: I am sure, dear Maristain, that I will not win it, as I am sure that some lazy person from my generation will win it and not even in passing mention me during his or her Stockholm speech.
MM: When were you the happiest?
RB: I have been happy almost every day of my life, except for short periods, including during the most adverse circumstances.
MM: If you hadn’t been a writer, what would you have been?
RB: I should like to have been a homicide detective much better than being a writer. I am absolutely sure of that. A string of homicides. I’d have been someone who could come back to the scene of the crime alone, by night, and not be afraid of ghosts. Perhaps then I might really have become crazy. But being a detective, that could easily be resolved with a bullet to the mouth.
MM: Do you confess to having lived?
RB: Well, I continue to live, to read, to write and to watch films, and as Arturo Prat said to the suicides of Esmeralda, “While I am still alive, this flag will not come down.”
A Chilean naval officer, Arturo Prat (1848-1879) is a
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