I’ve relocated recently from Barcelona to Utila, a little rock in the Caribbean with 6,000 habitants. It’s a writer’s paradise since islands have always occupied a powerful place and have been a source of fascination in the literary imagination. From the discovery of the Americas to the period of decolonization, European writers and artists translating … Continue reading Islands and Literature.
The Egg in Dali’s Work and in Literature.
The egg is ubiquitous in Dalí: he draws and sculpts it in all the possible shapes and sizes, and I came spontaneously to wonder; why can the eggs be found everywhere in Dali’s works?
The Golden Section in Dali’s Work and in Literature.
Mathematics can be, in addition to a good technical support for artists, also an exceptional creative stimulus.
Historical Backgrounds of the Qi’tet Members.
In my post of November 19th (Climbing and Jumping the Black Tower) I’ve been expanding upon the theme of how the five main protagonist of the Maharajagar are personifications of the Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata and how the Dark Tower series of Stephen King inspired me to bring these characters together in a multiracial … Continue reading Historical Backgrounds of the Qi’tet Members.
The Lovecraftian Universe as a Cornerstone of The Maharajagar.
Howard Philips Lovecraft created an alternate universe populated by malevolent sea-creatures and gods whereupon multiple artists have been expanding. Although he died in poverty, Lovecraft is now heralded as one of the greatest horror and fantasy writers of his time. In modern fiction and art, his work is frequently referred to as “The Cthulhu Mythos,” … Continue reading The Lovecraftian Universe as a Cornerstone of The Maharajagar.
Climbing and Jumping The Dark Tower.
I was looking for a theme that could bind an African, Caucasian, Indian, Chinese and Inuit man in a coherent group. A such I was playing with the word quintet till I remembered the Black Tower Saga by Stephen King.
An Author’s Thoughts about Literary Criticism.
I just take sometimes offence at some critics who base their weighting of a novel on a very narrowly defined scale and sometimes these scales are provided by academics whose job it is to provide an informed opinion about them and not some biased fodder.
Struggling with The Stream of Consciousness.
In our contemporary culture is an active resistance to difficulty in all its aesthetic manifestations, accompanied by a sense of grievance that conflates it with political elitism.
The Novel as a Source of Knowledge.
Novels, while not in the business of stating truths about the world, tell a human story very often universal in scope and present them back to us as concrete forms of human engagement. A novel has the capacity to give shape, form, and structure, to the range of values, concerns, and experiences that define human reality.
The Novel as an Infinite Literary Jest.
“Fiction’s about what it is to be a fucking human being.” One who gets lost in life and takes all those tales literally, can forget that novelist very often lie in order to explain some truth.
Why do people always want to read about misery?
The simple answer? Because it makes them feel fortunate.
When Order vs. Chaos doesn’t equal Good vs. Bad.
The main purpose of this novel is to entertain the reader with a historical fantasy: a spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy and absolute power, set against the canvas of North America, Europe and Asia during World War 1 and the ensuing great depression.
Literary Hoaxes: when fun turns into irritation.
So what sets the literary hoax separate from the rest of fiction?
Can we use fewer acronyms? Please?
If you don't have time to communicate while using whole sentences, better don't
The Decline of Reading
Those who read own the world, and those who watch television lose it.
Monomania and Literature.
The most common monomaniacal behavior associated with the literary field is of a very mundane nature: the obsession of writers with writing and that of the readers with reading.
The Moral Crusaders and Literary Criticism.
Once an artist releases a product, it stands on its own and must be judged as such. The only views and opinions that count, are those ventilated or provoked by the artistic creation itself.
The Reader as a Protagonist in Modern Literature.
A post about books that allow readers to become protagonists.
Writers Writing for Writers.
The sheer abundance of writing, editing, publishing and promotion manuals for authors make me sometimes roll my eyes.
Pseudo-intellectualism in Modern Literature.
People who presume, not-entirely-unreasonable, that "literary fiction" represents a value judgment, fail to understand that "literary fiction" is just a marketing category (coined in the 1970's by publishing and book retailers) characterized by slower pacing, stylized prose, introspection and a focus on interior life over exterior action, a focus on character over plot. What they are not, though, are inherent markers of quality.
The Maharajagar 