Look at the clock. Watch the big hand move until it reaches the twelve. Squeal because it’s time to go. Run to the family minivan and climb inside. Dodge your brothers’ punches
At the time of his death in Barcelona in July 2003, from liver failure, Roberto Bolaño had not seen a word of his work translated into English, though his stature in the Spanish-r
The Colombian film director, Sergio Cabrera, is in Barcelona for a retrospective of his work. It’s a hard time for him: his father, famous actor Fausto Cabrera, has just died; h
Zaragoza, Spain, was the location of the recent passing of Francisco (Paco) Uriz, a great Spanish-language poet and implacable observer of the contributions made by Spanish and His
The conquest of Mexico is over, and Juan de Toñanes is just one of the many inglorious soldiers living a small existence on the land he helped conquer. When he receives one last m
The Cádiz coast, southern Spain. As I write these lines, the winter solstice is just a few hours away. Mist hangs around throughout the morning, but by midday there is warm and co
While exploring recently published English translations of poetry from Spain – of which there are a fair amount, both in the UK and on the other side of the Atlantic – I was st
Manuel Vilas writes in long, sweeping phrases. Whether each piece is technically speaking a poem or a short story – the book contains both forms, and the main difference seems to
Poetry often means experimenting, with the language itself, with its textures, its structure and building blocks. Mario Martín Gijón does exactly this in his highly inventive and
Miren Agur Meabe writes books for adults and children, and is the only writer from the Basque Country to be awarded Spain’s national poetry prize. With several poetry collections
