Tracing Texts

A new episode of the podcast Tracing Texts is now available. In it, Sylvia and I discuss the work of the Galician poet Rosalia de Castro, with special attention given to her 1881 novel written in Spanish, El primer loco (The First Madman). The episode will soon be available on Podomatic and iTunes as well.

In Episode 14, Sylvia and Anton have a lively conversation featuring a previously discussed author, Cristina Rivera Garza. But instead of revisiting her novel, the literary chat focuses on one of her short stories, "El hombre que siempre soñó" from the collection "Ningún reloj cuenta esto" published in 2002. We hope you enjoy this new episode!

In Episode 13, Antón introduces the Spanish writer Alejandro Sawa (1862-1909), who formed part of the Spanish Bohemia. Antón delves specifically into Sawa's short novel, La sima de Igúzquiza (The Cave of Igúzquiza, 1888). We hope you enjoy our latest discussion of literary texts in Spanish.

In Episode 12, I introduce the young Mexican author Valeria Luiselli, and Anton and I have and interesting discussion about her novel "Faces in the Crowd". As a "chilanga" residing in New York City, Luiselli's work provides a liminal space that allows us to question reality, time, and identity. Her novel is a gem that we hope will intrigue others to read it as well.

In this episode, Antón discusses Rafael Dieste, one of the lesser-known figures of the Spanish Generation of 1927. His relative obscurity is perhaps due to the fact that he wrote both in Galician and Spanish, though he was very active throughout his long literary career. We discuss Dos Arquivos Do Trasno (From the Goblin's Archives), one of his most renowned works, which is a collection of short stories originally published in 1926. It was totally different from what other Galician and Spanish authors were writing at the time, especially because of his use of mystery, the supernatural, and elements of the horror story. We hope you enjoy this episode, and as always, we welcome comments and feedback!

Our 10th anniversary episode features one of our favorite authors, Jorge Luis Borges, and his collection of short stories entitled "Ficciones." Dr. David Carithers, a friend and colleague, also joins us as a special guest in order to add another perspective to the discussion. We hope you enjoy the show!

In Episode 9, Antón discusses the Spanish author, Emilio Carrere. He was one of the foremost representatives of the Bohemian writers and artists who lived and worked in Madrid in the early- to mid-20th century. We hope you enjoy this new episode after the summer break!

In this episode, Anton discusses Álvaro Cunqueiro, one of the most important Spanish and Galician writers of the 20th century. Anton presents Cunqueiro's use of magical realism, which makes him one of the pioneers of this narrative technique. This type of literature serves as an example of sophisticated/reconstructive literature.

During a conference in Savannah, we had the opportunity to visit the Bonaventure Cemetery. In this special episode, Dr. Lucia Florido joins us to discuss Little Gracie, one of Savannah's most famous past residents buried in Bonaventure. We explore the possible reasons why Little Gracie may have reached cult status. We hope you enjoy our live chat.

In this podcast, Sylvia and Anton discuss Elena Garro’s novel, Los Recuerdos del porvenir (1963), which gives an account of the Mexican Revolution’s aftermath and challenges patriarchal depictions of the non-passive woman to question accepted notions of femininity. By refashioning the femme fatale, Garro offers a different reading of the historical record and critiques hegemonic Western masculine discourses, while also providing an aperture for reinstating and endowing Nahuatl religious practices with value and continued meaning.

The content of this episode is based on Miguel de Cervantes’s play La Numancia. Anton explores the idea of religion in this lesser-known play by Cervantes, which was written sometime in the mid-1580s. La Numancia is one of Cervantes’s earliest tragic plays, and it loosely based on the historical episode of the siege of the village of Numancia by the Romans.

This episode features a discussion of Amparo Dávila's short story "La Celda" from her collection "Tiempo Destrozado" published in 1959. The story's depiction of María Camino, the protagonist, could be interpreted as being a femme fatale, but our episode discusses how Dávila's narrative subtly challenges this archetypal representation. Dávila engages in a feminist critique of women’s roles in society. In particular, she addresses repressed feminine sexuality through the use of motifs like madness and characters like the femme fatale. Her writing is characterized by a gothic sensibility that "…submerges the reader in a world that defies rational explanation” (Hammond-Fernández 4).

In Episode 4, Anton discusses the life and work of Spanish poet, writer, artist, and intellectual, José Moreno Villa. Moreno Villa is most closely associated with the Generation of 1927 in Spanish Literature, which generally brings to mind important figures of the that period like García Lorca, Buñuel, and Dalí. Moreno Villa's "Jacinta la pelirroja" is a collection of poems that describe his failed romance with a woman named Florence from New York. In addition to the autobiographical nature of his poetry, Moreno Villa incorporates jazz elements into his poetry both with respect to imagery and rhythm.

This episode discusses the depiction of the femme fatale, as an archetypal character, along with some of the myths and folkloric elements that gave rise to this representation. The purpose is to use this as a foundation for future discussions of texts that include depictions of the fatal woman in Spanish language literature.