The Buenos Aires Review just turned two, and we’re celebrating with champagne and a dossier on one of our favorite writers: Mario Bellatin.

Bellatin is a luminary of contemporary Latin American literature, a creator who connects writing with performance art. From the haunting, critically acclaimed Beauty Salon to the apocryphal (but meticulously documented) biography of the Japanese writer Shiki Nagaoka, Bellatin builds complex literary systems with his characteristically spare prose. His aesthetic project also extends beyond the page: in 2003 he organized a Conference of Doubles in Paris, at which the invited authors listed on the marquee (including Sergio Pitol and Margo Glantz) were replaced by stand-ins trained to answer questions in their stead.

Though he cuts a mischievous, unpredictable figure within the literary establishment, there is also a consistency to Bellatin’s work, certain ideas and gestures that resonate between texts. This ... Read More »]]>

The Buenos Aires Review just turned two, and we’re celebrating with champagne and a dossier on one of our favorite writers: Mario Bellatin.

Bellatin is a luminary of contemporary Latin American literature, a creator who connects writing with performance art. From the haunting, critically acclaimed Beauty Salon to the apocryphal (but meticulously documented) biography of the Japanese writer Shiki Nagaoka, Bellatin builds complex literary systems with his characteristically spare prose. His aesthetic project also extends beyond the page: in 2003 he organized a Conference of Doubles in Paris, at which the invited authors listed on the marquee (including Sergio Pitol and Margo Glantz) were replaced by stand-ins trained to answer questions in their stead.

Though he cuts a mischievous, unpredictable figure within the literary establishment, there is also a consistency to Bellatin’s work, certain ideas and gestures that resonate between texts. This is why we’re thrilled that more and more of his books are beginning to appear in translation, and why we’re so pleased to share this dossier with you.

Inside you’ll find:

David Shook‘s lucid, witty translation of a piece Bellatin has yet to write, accompanied by a series of emails clarifying the finer points of the text.

Craig Epplin‘s reflections on doubles, Converse, and the author’s search for Frida Kahlo.

Mat Chiappe‘s interview with the author featuring, among other things, Kamikaze Taxi, the (near omni-) presence of Japan in Bellatin’s work, and the adaptation of Bola negra for the stage.

Edmundo Paz Soldán‘s uncanny encounter with The Uruguayan Book of the Dead, for which Bellatin won the prestigious José María Arguedas prize.

Andrea Rosenberg‘s elegant rendition of Bellatin’s Bola negra.

To top things off, the pieces are all bedecked with images from the great Sebastián Freire and a few from Bellatin himself, together with Ben Rodkin and David Shook for the film Barú.

We hope you’ll enjoy reading this collection as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together.
—The editors

*

Oh, and if you’re inspired to dig for more, here are a few places to start:

Beauty Salon tr. Kurt Hollander (City Lights 2009)
(Read about the book @ Molossus)

Shiki Nagaoka: A Nose for Fiction tr. David Shook (Phoneme Media 2013)
(Read about the book in The New York Times, or check out a review @ Words Without Borders)

The Transparent Bird’s Gaze tr. David Shook (Phoneme Media 2014)

Jacob the Mutant tr. Jacob Steinberg (Phoneme Media 2015)
(Reviewed for Music & Literature by BAR Founding Editor Heather Cleary)

* *

Image: Ben Rodkin with Mario Bellatin and David Shook for Barú.

Espacio en Blanco www.espacioenblancocultural.org

Espacio en Blanco began in Buenos Aires in 2009, when writer Francisco Moulia and artist Sergio Jiménez opened the doors of their home with the idea of having a place to share their creative work: a place where artists, writers, and musicians could meet. In 2013, Jiménez moved to Bogotá with an architect named Marisa Espínola, bringing Espacio en Blanco with him. They took over a house in the northeastern part of the city and—preserving the original idea of fostering artistic projects—broadened EEB’s cultural panorama to include design and architecture, and create a cultural oasis in a residential area of the city.

Marisa Espínola and Sergio Jiménez continue to develop this space, which opens its doors to emerging and established artists alike. Above all, they work ... Read More »]]> The images featured in BAR(2) were selected by Marisa Espínola and appear courtesy of:

Espacio en Blanco
www.espacioenblancocultural.org

Espacio en Blanco began in Buenos Aires in 2009, when writer Francisco Moulia and artist Sergio Jiménez opened the doors of their home with the idea of having a place to share their creative work: a place where artists, writers, and musicians could meet. In 2013, Jiménez moved to Bogotá with an architect named Marisa Espínola, bringing Espacio en Blanco with him. They took over a house in the northeastern part of the city and—preserving the original idea of fostering artistic projects—broadened EEB’s cultural panorama to include design and architecture, and create a cultural oasis in a residential area of the city.

Marisa Espínola and Sergio Jiménez continue to develop this space, which opens its doors to emerging and established artists alike. Above all, they work to construct a space where art can be created, seen, and discussed.

The house is constantly being transformed and adjusted to fit the programs that take place within it: exhibitions of art and design, courses on art and architecture, creative workshops and gastronomic experiences meant to spark conversation. The creators of Espacio en Blanco are currently organizing an artist residency in the space, as they believe in the power of travel to foster creation and reflection. (Photo: Sergio Jiménez)

Marisa Espínola
espinola.marisa@gmail.com

An architect and a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires, Marisa has studied mixed-media artistic expression at the National Art Institute of Argentina, participated in textile and stagecraft workshops, and has also worked in interior design. She has worked as an architect in Buenos Aires, José Ignacio, and Stockholm, taught classes in the department of Architecture, Design, and Urban Planning at the University of Buenos Aires, lectured on architecture in Buenos Aires and Stockholm, and curated art exhibitions in Buenos Aires and Bogotá. She is currently in charge of workshops and continuing education courses at the cultural and art space Espacio en Blanco.

She created and directs the design studio MOSI LAB: Artful Interiors, where, in collaboration with artists and designers, she develops design projects and restores furniture and spaces with an artistic vision and a daring use of color.

Contributing Artists:  

Nadja Bournonville
www.nadjabournonville.se

Nadja Bournonville is a Swedish freelance photographer based in Berlin. She studied photography at The Glasgow School of Art, 2003- 2006, and finished her MA in photography with Professor Tina Bara at the Visual Academy in Leipzig in 2012. Bournonville is represented by Pierogi Gallery in New York and her work can currently be seen in the touring exhibition “Gute Aussichten—Young German Photography.” (Photo: Maria Muhrman/Bonniers Konsthall)

Victoria Holguín
www.victoriaholguin.com

A photographer from Cali living in Bogotá, Victoria loves her job. She always lets herself be surprised by a detail, by the light, and by the magic of each moment, turning each image into an excuse to surprise the viewer. She is currently working on a number of freelance projects, including portraits, fashion photography, and photojournalism; she is the founder and editor-in-chief of fotomeraki.com, a blog that features the best contemporary photography from Colombia, and takes non-traditional wedding photos for the Efeunodos group.

Sergio Jiménez
www.arsser.com

A visual artist and a graduate of the National University of Colombia, Sergio majored in mixed-media artistic expression at the National Art Institute of Argentina and is pursuing a doctorate at the National University of Argentina at La Plata. He was the President of the National Committee of Colombia for the 2012-2013 World Art Games (WAG) in Croatia, and—together with Marisa Espínola—currently directs the cultural space Espacio en Blanco.

Sergio’s work, which focuses on the concept of travel as an aesthetic practice, has been exhibited in Italy, Turkey, the United States, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Argentina. He has received an honorable mention for his project, “Frottage and the City: relations of place, contact, and comprehension,” and the financial support of the National Chancellory of Colombia, the National University of Argentina at La Plata, and the National Art Institute of Argentina.

Moa Karlberg
www.moakarlberg.com

A freelance photographer based in Stockholm, Sweden, Moa enjoys short assignments for newspapers, magazines and companies as well as long-term projects within Sweden and abroad. She is also the photo editor of the documentary magazine Re:public.

Love Lundell
www.lovelundell.com

Love Lundell’s work—a mix of painting, collage, and drawing—is based on his memories of the dreams he had as a child. As a memory becomes more and more detailed, he allows layers to emerge, and the final work is often quite different from the original idea, melding images and emotions in a chaos that resists linearity. Love has a master’s of fine art from Trondheim Art Academy and has exhibited at i.a. Galleri Wallner in Simris and Liljevalchs och Göteborgs Konstförening in Gothenberg. He lives and works in Stockholm.
 

Ana Wingeyer

Is a visual artist and graphic designer, and a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires. Ana co-directs the publishing house Obra Gráfica Original Malevo Estampa and teaches graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires.

* *

Mario Bellatin David Shook Pola Oloixarac Martin Caamaño Fernando Montes Vera

celebrate the birthday of the immortal Edgardo Cozarinsky with live READINGS and film SCREENINGS

January 20 at 6:00pm Fundación Proa Av. Don Pedro de Mendoza 1929 La Boca, Buenos Aires

Image: Antonio Gagliano

* *

This first quarterly issue of the Buenos Aires Review boasts new literary works from a variety of tongues—French, Galician, German, Portuguese, Russian, and a touch of Hungarian accompany the Spanish and English of always—and locales ranging from Rio de Janeiro, México, London, Paris, A Coruña, and São Paulo, to Moscow, Los Angeles, Costa Rica, Mar del Plata and New York.

Fiction. We unravel the mystery of Bola Negra, the shapeshifting piece by Mario Bellatin that led to a film and an opera, tap the spirit(s) of Mad Men with James Warner, and winter with Rosario Bléfari on the Argentine coast, while Juan Álvarez gets tangled up with hitmen and supermodels in Colombia and Sacha Sperling—France’s latest enfant terrible—takes on literary glam & doom.

Poetry. We cut a path through Yolanda Castaño’s sensual urban pastorals and Vincent Toro’s lyric maps to ... Read More »]]>

This first quarterly issue of the Buenos Aires Review boasts new literary works from a variety of tongues—French, Galician, German, Portuguese, Russian, and a touch of Hungarian accompany the Spanish and English of always—and locales ranging from Rio de Janeiro, México, London, Paris, A Coruña, and São Paulo, to Moscow, Los Angeles, Costa Rica, Mar del Plata and New York.

Fiction. We unravel the mystery of Bola Negra, the shapeshifting piece by Mario Bellatin that led to a film and an opera, tap the spirit(s) of Mad Men with James Warner, and winter with Rosario Bléfari on the Argentine coast, while Juan Álvarez gets tangled up with hitmen and supermodels in Colombia and Sacha Sperling—France’s latest enfant terrible—takes on literary glam & doom.

Poetry. We cut a path through Yolanda Castaño’s sensual urban pastorals and Vincent Toro’s lyric maps to wrangle Hoag Holmgren’s paleocreatures and rappel from the precipices of  Daniela Lima’s eyes.

Time Regained. We revisit the sublime and fantastic world of Paul Karl Wilhem Scheerbart (1863-1915) through the translations of Mariana Dimópulos and Joel Morris.

Conversations: on Conceptualisms. We listen in as Latin America’s first and foremost conceptual artist Roberto Jacoby sits down with Reinaldo Laddaga, Ubuweb founder and Uncreative Writer Kenneth Goldsmith binds past and present with Michael Romano, and American poet David Shook talks poetry drones with Pola Oloixarac.

Art. We join Ben Merriman in the factory that became Costa Rica’s best museum.

Bookstores we ❤. We visit indie bookstores in Moscow and São Paulo with Marfa Nekrasova and Julián Fuks.

Translator’s Note. Fulbright scholar Adam Z. Levy takes a heady swig of Hungarian and Yiddish.

The images in this issue are curated by Mariano López Seoane of miau miau, the crème de la crème of Buenos Aires galleries. We’re grateful to them for this feast for the eyes. We’d also like to thank Gustavo Pérez Firmat, whose inspired title inspired us in turn (to steal it); Belén Agustina Sánchez, Melissa Kitson, and Arianna Stern, who were so generous with their help; and the writers and translators who collaborated with us on this issue. It’s been a pleasure and an honor to work with you.

Besos!
The editors

“Guerra” (2013) by Rosario Zorraquín, courtesy of miau miau

It’s taken a long, hectic, dizzying, beautiful year to get this project off the ground. We started the BAR because we just couldn’t ignore the opportunity and the need for it: we were in the middle of the vibrant artistic and intellectual community of Buenos Aires at the same time digital publishing was making cultural exchange across countries and continents possible in a way unthinkable before. But we couldn’t have done it alone. We’re deeply grateful to all our writers, translators, artists, and advisors, as well as to our Associate Editors, who helped shepherd this publication into being.

—Las Editoras

In our inaugural selection:

David Leavitt takes us on a tour of the hedonistic world of 1930s Paris in “The Reversal Spell” Giovanna Rivero channels rural Bolivia in “Smoke” Champion of international lit John ... Read More »]]> We’re thrilled to welcome you to the Buenos Aires Review.

It’s taken a long, hectic, dizzying, beautiful year to get this project off the ground. We started the BAR because we just couldn’t ignore the opportunity and the need for it: we were in the middle of the vibrant artistic and intellectual community of Buenos Aires at the same time digital publishing was making cultural exchange across countries and continents possible in a way unthinkable before. But we couldn’t have done it alone. We’re deeply grateful to all our writers, translators, artists, and advisors, as well as to our Associate Editors, who helped shepherd this publication into being.

—Las Editoras

In our inaugural selection:

David Leavitt takes us on a tour of the hedonistic world of 1930s Paris in “The Reversal Spell”
Giovanna Rivero channels rural Bolivia in “Smoke”
Champion of international lit John Freeman shares his poems “Oslo,” “The Heat,” and “Unknowing”
Ariel Schettini explores our collective animal side in “Shade Sails,” “Return to Origin,” “The Kissers,” and “Foxes of London”
Mariano López Seoane looks at the politics behind Evita’s glamour
Dorothy Spears, our favorite art critic for The New York Times, publishes her first short story
Javier Calvo and Mara Faye Lethem talk translation and trends
Joshua Edwards and Lincoln Michel present luminous, distinctly contemporary, work

Plus:

Junot Díaz chats with Karen Cresci about getting caught between languages
Milton Läufer shares the secret of a classic Buenos Aires bookstore
Maxine Swann reviews Zadie Smith’s NW

Not to mention:

Images by Belén Bejarano, Sofía Flores Blasco, Carmen Burguess, Eduardo Carrera, Gisèle Freund, Christos Katsiaouni, Marisela LaGrave, Maximiliano Murad, and Lucía Vassallo

Translations by Pablo Ambrogi, Heather Cleary, Carlos Freytes, Addie Leak, Valeria Meiller, Lucas Mertehikian, John Oliver Simon, Rodrigo Marchán, Santiago Martorana, and Rachel Small

Don’t be a stranger. We’ll be adding new material every week.

Coming soon: curator and art critic María Gainza tells us about her own private Rothko, and Aaron Thier offers a haunting meditation on the Aberdeen Bestiary. Then there’s a fabulous ebook dossier with writing from and about the inscrutable Mario Bellatin.