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Cervantes at Harvard

“Vivir es, al fin, poder contarlo” The abundant (but incomplete) catalogues of the Harvard libraries list 88 entries, solely of books, under the name of Andrés Trapiello: 66 are written by him; in the 22 others, he appears as prologue writer, anthologist, or contributor. Andrés Trapiello (Manzaneda de Torío, León, 1953) is perhaps best known for the collection of diaries titled Salón de pasos perdidos, a cult favorite for a substantial group of readers since 1990. This year volume 19 of Salón was published, and together with the 8 others being prepared for the printer, it is possible that the work will add up to more than 10,000 pages. But the ample territory covered by Trapiello includes many other similarly important areas. His novels (El buque fantasma, Los amigos del crimen perfecto, Al morir don Quijote…) and his books of poetry (Acaso una verdad, Rama desnuda…) have received distinguished prizes, both individually and as a group. Many of his books, always graced with magnificent titles (Viajeros y estables, Clásicos de traje gris, Ni tuyo ni mío…), gather incisive essays on writers, lectures of all sorts, along with articles and press reviews, and some of his prologues, innumerable and masterful. Others are thorough literary studies, such as Las armas y las letras (on novels centering on the Spanish Civil War) and Los nietos del Cid (on the “Generation of 98”), or rigorously researched historical accounts, such as La noche de los Cuatro Caminos. From the beginning of his career, Trapiello has also practiced, exemplarily, as a typesetter, book designer, and editor: evidence is found in the many carefully prepared volumes published by La Ventura, Trieste or La Veleta, and his beautiful work, impeccably illustrated, Imprenta Moderna. Tipografía y Literatura en España, 1874-2005. Luis Fernández Cifuentes is Emeritus Professor of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University. He is the author of Teoría y mercado de la novela en España: Del 98 a la República, García Lorca en el teatro: La norma y la diferencia, and Cartografías del desasosiego: El teatro de García Lorca. In Spanish Co-sponsored by VOCES HISPÁNICAS / HISPANIC VOICES - BOSTON UNIVERSITY

 

Photo gallery: https://cervantesobservatorio.fas.harvard.edu/en/galleries/photos/photo-gallery-18-october-2016

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