The Latin American Studies Association Conference or ‘How I met everyone I cite in my thesis’

(Originally posted 18 June 2013)

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m a confessed conference junkie, but all of the conferences I’ve been to so far this year added together still don’t come near to the enormous scale of LASA. As the international conference for anyone working on any aspect of Latin American Studies – from politics and economics, to culture, geography and even medicine – LASA attracts several thousand attendees. The swarm of Latin Americanists in the lobby when I first arrived at the hotel in Washington DC where this year’s conference was overwhelming, but I quickly realised that, beyond the lobby, panels at LASA were much the same as at any other conference, thankfully.

With Profesor Gisela Kozak Rovero and one of her former students

The amazing thing about LASA is how it attracts the leading scholars in my field, who I would never otherwise get a chance to meet. I got all fangirly in the presence of such academic stars: ”Professor X, I’m a huge fan of yours, I’ve read all your books, squee!” Most of this happened in my panel, embarassingly. When I was selected for LASA back in January, I had barely begun my PhD and had little idea of who the other four presenters in my panel were. Now I cite three of them in my thesis. In the audience were another three of my sources. Talking about a Venezuelan novel to a roomful of leading literature professors from Venezuela was intimidating, to say the least, but they were incredibly friendly and welcoming, and gave me invaluable feedback for my thesis.

With writer Dayana Fraile in the enormous Venezuelan literature section of the University of Pittsburgh library

Taking advantage of being on that side of the world (and the insanely cheap Megabus), after the conference I headed to Pittsburgh, for a – sadly far too brief - visit to some Venezuelan writers who I also cite, and in the case of Israel Centeno, have a whole chapter dedicated to. Once again, it was an incredible experience to meet people whose work I so enjoy and admire, and I learned so much for my thesis. Now I just have to write it all up!Share on twitterShare on emailShare on pinterest_shareMore Sharing Servi

Library Love

(Originally posted 19 March 2013)

Don’t worry, I haven’t succumbed to one of those ‘Spotted in the Library’ Facebook groups to declare my lust for ‘Hottie in the blue t-shirt reading Sartre’, it’s just that after six months at King’s I’m finally starting to make the most of the library.

The Venezuelan shelf in the stacks

My project is about a collection of novels, which aren’t in the library, or indeed any library, expect maybe one in Pennsylvannia or Texas. As a result, I spent most of the first few months reading the books that had been smuggled to me by Venezuelans on holiday in London or emailed to me by the authors themselves. Now, however, I’ve been using the library to the full and finally feel like a real PhD student.

I was far too excited about my first ever Inter-Library Loan. I could have bought the book in question for £40 and waited several weeks for it to arrive from Venezuela, but thanks to the library, I got it in a matter of days for free 

After lots of getting lost in the labyrinth of stacks, I also finally found the Venezuelan shelf. It’s a real treasure trove of classic texts, which I am now slowly working my way through. I was so geekily happy at my discovery, I thought I had to share it with you!

Young Researchers Conference in Madrid

Being a PhD student has many perks, but perhaps one of the best is being funded (thank you very much to the School of Arts and Humanities’ Small Grants for Research Students scheme!) to travel abroad for research and conferences. Last week, I travelled to Madrid for my first conference abroad: the ‘First Colloquium of Young Researchers in Latin American Literature’ at the Universidad Complutense, Madrid. Between enjoying the sunshine, visiting the Reina Sofia gallery and eating about 50 different types of ham, I had an amazing time meeting other young researchers who shared my exact interests, building my network and learning so much from them. 

When the time for my presentation came, I was extremely nervous as it’s the first time that I’ve had to present in Spanish in front of an almost entirely Spanish-speaking crowd. Then when Eduardo Sánchez Rugeles, the author of the book I was about to talk about (Blue Label/Etiqueta Azul) walked in, nerves turned to terror, as I panicked that he would hate everything I said. Thankfully, the presentation went very well and he seemed to really enjoy it – more than anything he was shocked and grateful that someone from England would care so much about his work! He had also very kindly brought me a copy of his latest book, which I had desperately wanted for months.

Later that evening, another of my favourite authors, Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez, came to finish the conference with a reading from his latest book and a Q+A session. I got a free book from him too, as well as a chance to discuss his writing and my translations of his work.

So I returned to England with two books, lots of new Latin American literature enthusiast friends, key insights for my research and even a bit of a tan – bring on the next conference!

24 Hours in Pittsburgh - Venezuelan Literature + Motive Band

Me and Dayana among the stacks of Venezuelan books

As 2013 draws to a close, I'm trying to see how much of the year that I missed blogging I can catch up on. Here's one I made much much earlier...

While in the States for the LASA conference back in June, I decided to make the most of the super-cheap Megabus and catch up with some of the Venezuelan ex-pat writer community currently residing in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the Megabus is cheap for a reason, and an unexpected change of schedule left me with only 24 hours in the Steel City, but I made the most of every minute!

I was extremely excited to finally meet Dayana Fraile and Guillermo Parra, tireless promoters of Venezuelan literature abroad. As well as a fellow student of Venezuelan literature, Dayana is the author of a wonderful collection of short stories called Granizo. Guillermo frequently translates Venezuelan poems, short stories and essays, and posts them on his blog, Venepoetics. His Selected Works of José Antonio Ramos Sucre is also one of only two translations of Venezuelan work published in the USA since 2008.

They kindly took me to the University of Pittsburgh, which I'd wanted to visit for years, since I'd discovered it was home to a building called the Cathedral of Learning. Anywhere where education is the religion is my kind of place! The 'Cathedral' is built in the late Gothic style, and home to a collection of 'national' classrooms, each decorated in the style of that country (the English one was built with timbre left over from rebuilding London churches after the Blitz). I was pleased to learn that the University library is home to an enormous collection of Venezuelan literature, and desperately wanted to stay there and read - although even with a whole of nothing but reading there, I still wouldn't scratch the surface.

In the afternoon, Guillermo took me to meet Israel Centeno, one of the most successful and prolific Venezuelan authors of his generation. We first came into contact after I translated an interview with him for my Venezuelan Literature site, as he was keen to discuss the London that had once been home to him in the 80s. As a writer in residence, for City of Asylum, Centeno lives on the spectacularly colourful Sampsonia Way. Part of City of Asylum's project is to reinvigorate this part of North Pittsburgh, turning the houses into works of art, narratives and historical documents, which makes it a fascinating place to visit (read more about these 'House Publications' here).

 

As well as admiring Israel's house, it was an incredible opportunity to talk to him about his work and opinions about contemporary Venezuela. It was also fascinating to hear about the London he knew - Brixton at the time of the riots, filled with squatters and sexual liberation - so different from the city I grew up in. That London is the setting for his novel Bajo las hojas, a complex and challenging story about writing as the ultimate form of power and control.

"Do they still have orgies in the graveyards?"

Thinking I'd have some time to kill between meeting Israel and my midnight bus, before leaving for the States I'd searched for live music in Pittsburgh that evening, stumbled upon Motive and very quickly become addicted to their It's Illicit LP. They have been called The Strokes 2.0, and the influence is obvious, but they do it very well. Dayana kindly volunteered to come with me, and although we sadly among a very limited number of music fans in the Smiling Moose that evening (most people were downstairs watching the Penguins lose), Motive rocked hard and made us dance like crazy people. 

You can buy new singles Mammals and Burn Down Brooklyn for $1 each, or name your price for the It's Illict EP at motivemusic.bandcamp.com.