Eccentric Embodiment:
Tales and Truths

Valeria Luiselli and Guadalupe Nettel In conversation with writer and translator Magdalena Edwards
Thursday, Feb 23, 2017 | 7:15pm Mark Taper Auditorium-Central Library

Co-presented with the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles 

The eccentric fictional worlds of authors Valeria Luiselli and Guadalupe Nettel come alive on the ALOUD stage as these two leading voices in contemporary Mexican literature meet to share recent work. Luiselli, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction and two-time recipient of the Los Angeles Times’ Book Prizes will share The Story of My Teeth, an imaginative odyssey through Mexico City’s art world and industrial suburbs. Guadalupe Nettel, voted one of the most important Latin American writers at the Bogotá Hay Festival, playfully illuminates human obsessions in her short fiction Natural Histories, and narrates her unconventional childhood in the autobiographical novel, The Body Where I Was Born.

This will be a bilingual program (English/Spanish).

 

Encarnación excéntrica: hechos y embustes

Valeria Luiselli y Guadalupe Nettel
En conversación con Magdalena Edwards

Co-presentado con el Consulado General de México en Los Ángeles

Los excéntricos mundos ficticios de autoras Valeria Luiselli y Guadalupe Nettel toman vida en el escenario de ALOUD cuando estas dos destacadas voces de la literatura Mexicana contemporánea se encuentran para compartir sus obras recientes. Luiselli, finalista para el National Book Critics Award in Fiction y ganadora, dos veces, del Los Angeles Times Book Prize, presentará La historia de mis dientes, una odisea creativa por el mundo del arte en la ciudad de México y sus suburbios industriales. Guadalupe Nettel, seleccionada como una de las mas importantes escritoras de América Latina en el Hay Festival de Bogotá, ilumina lúdicamente las obsesiones humanas en sus relatos cortos en El matrimonio de los peces rojos y narra su infancia inusual en la novela autobiográfica El cuerpo en que nací.

Este evento será bilingüe (inglés/español).

Valeria Luiselli

Valeria Luiselli was born Mexico City and grew up in South Africa. A novelist (Faces in the Crowd and The Story of My Teeth) and essayist (Sidewalks), her work has been translated into many languages and has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the New Yorker, Granta, and McSweeney’s. In 2014, Faces in the Crowd was the recipient of the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 award. The Story of My Teeth was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the 2015 Los Angeles Times Prize for Best Fiction. She lives in New York City.

Valeria Luiselli nació en la Ciudad de México y creció en Sudáfrica. Es novelista y ensayista (Papeles Falsos), y su obra ha sido traducida a muchos idiomas y ha aparecido en publicaciones como  The New York Times, The New Yorker, Granta y McSweeney’s. En 2014, Faces in the Crowd (Los Ingrávidos ) recibió el premio Art Seidenbaum del Los Angeles Times y el premio “5 Under 35” de la National Book Foundation. La Historia de mis dientes fue finalista para el Premio Nacional del Círculo de Críticos del Libro y ganó el Premio para la Mejor Ficción de Los Angeles Times en 2015. Vive en la ciudad de Nueva York.

Guadalupe Nettel

The New York Times described Guadalupe Nettel’s acclaimed English-language debut, Natural Histories, as “five flawless stories.” A Bogotá 39 author and Granta “Best Untranslated Writer,” Nettel has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Gilberto Owen National Literature Prize, the Antonin Artaud Prize, the Ribera del Duero Short Fiction Award, and most recently the 2014 Herralde Novel Prize. The Body Where I Was Born is her highly anticipated first novel to appear in English. She lives and works in Mexico City.

Guadalupe Nettel recibió críticas excelentes por su primer libro publicado en traducción al inglés, Natural Histories (El Matrimonio de los peces rojos). The New York Times declaró esta obra una colección de “cinco historias sin defectos.” Nettel ha recibido numerosos premios y nominaciones: el Bogotá 39, la lista de Granta de los mejores escritores no traducidos al inglés, el Premio Nacional de Literatura Gilberto Owen, El Premio Antonin Artaud, el Premio de Ficción Breve Ribera del Duero y el Premio Novela Herralde. The Body Where I was Born (El cuerpo donde nací), su primera novela traducida al inglés, fue publicada en 2015. Vive y trabaja en la Ciudad de México.

Magdalena Edwards

Magdalena Edwards’ writing has appeared in The Paris Review Daily, Boston Review, Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB), The Millions, and El Mercurio. She is translating Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector’s novel The Chandelier from Portuguese for New Directions, a project that took her to Yaddo. A contributing editor at LARB and an Artist Resident in Motherhood, Magdalena is completing a literary memoir In the Middle of the Road: Traveling with Elizabeth Bishop, Clarice Lispector, and Raúl Zurita and translating, from Spanish, Chilean surrealist Juan Emar’s posthumous novel Love. She holds a BA in Social Studies from Harvard and a PhD in Comparative Literature from UCLA.

 

Magdalena Edwards ha publicado ensayos en The Paris Review Daily, Boston Review, Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB), The Millions, y El Mercurio de Chile. Está traduciendo para New Directions la segunda novela de la escritora brasileña Clarice Lispector, O lustre, un proyecto que la llevó a Yaddo. Es editora colaboradora en LARB y participa de Lenka Clayton’s Artist Residency in Motherhood. Edwards está escribiendo un libro autobiográfico, En el medio del camino: Viajando con Elizabeth Bishop, Clarice Lispector y Raúl Zurita y está traduciendo la novela póstuma del surrealista chileno Juan Emar titulada Amor. Se recibió de Harvard con un BA en Ciencias Sociales e hizo su doctorado en Literatura Comparada en UCLA.

Reservation Policy for Free Programs:
As most ALOUD at Central Library programs are free of charge, it is our policy to overbook. In the case of a FULL program your free reservation may not guarantee admission. We recommend arriving early. Space permitting, unclaimed reservations will be released to standby patrons at approximately 7 PM.

Standby Policy:
Standby numbers are distributed in person only one hour before the program, on a first-come, first-served, basis. There is no advance wait list for full programs. Standby patrons will be admitted subject to availability. Most programs will be available via podcast.

Book Signing Policy:
ALOUD is one of many free programs at the Los Angeles Public Library made possible by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles. Most ALOUD author programs are followed by book signings. At least one copy of the author’s book must be purchased from The Library Store in order to participate in any post-program book signing, and you will be asked to show proof of purchase. Please be prepared to show your proof of purchase when you enter the book signing line. Proceeds support the Los Angeles Public Library.

Main image:  Illustration from Principal household insects of the United States by C. L. Marlatt (1896)

 

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