Featuring Cristina Rivera Garza and Amaranta Caballero
February 2nd, 17:00
Rosebud Sivullinen (Kaisaniemenkatu 5), Helsinki
Description:
From ancient nomadic mythology to the villainous feats of Pancho Villa, from Roberto Bolaño’s apocalyptic imaginaries to the televised struggle of contemporary migrants, the Mexican desert remains a baffling place: cavity and canvas, buffer zone and epicenter, a place for industry and debacle. In recent decades, their vantage point and cultural syncretism have garnered Northern Mexican writers a special place in the landscape of contemporary literature. This success is partially a recognition of many writers’ sharp aesthetic sense. On the other hand, the book industry in both the Spanish- and English-speaking realms often regards them as mere chroniclers, war zone informants, or eyewitnesses to a crumbling society. Polish philosopher Leszek Kołakowski wrote that through repetition, horror empties itself of meaning. Thus, the connection to this fraught region sometimes threatens to trivialize the induvial writers’ pursuits by overdetermining their themes and approaches. In reaction to this conundrum, Northern Mexican writers wander around the globe and resort to inwardness and hallucination, to theory and historical accounts.
Poet, novelist, and scholar Cristina Rivera Garza and poet Amaranta Caballero Prado will discuss these issues and read excerpts of their work.
Translator Emma Toukonen will read Finnish translations.
sivuvalo platform 