My work as a translator stems from a genuine love for language. I dedicate to each project the time and respect it demands, making sure that I provide the client with a faithful and high quality rendering of the original. If you want accuracy, a painstaking attention to detail and the flawless results that only devotion to the written word can give, you have found your translator.
[Scroll down to read in English] Con el apoyo de Escritoras Mexicanas se está organizando un Círculo de lectura de mi novela Cudad doliente de Dios, que se realizará, vía Zoom, los días 27 de julio, 10, 24 de agosto y 7 de septiembre, de 4 a 5.30 PM, hora del centro de México.
Chris Edgoose’s declaration of principles regarding his reviews of poetry talks of a profound, curious and insightful engagement with poetry that I find liberating and necessary. He affirms to see poetry as both ‘part of the world’, and ‘a way in to the world’, and his blog is an invitation to that understanding and that journey. His guiding principles are here:
/En este enlace puedes leer la entrevista sobre mi novela Ciudad doliente de Dios realizada recientemente por Cristina Liceaga para la página Escritoras Mexicanas. La novelaestá inspirada en los poemas proféticos de William Blake.
The link above will take you to an interview about my novel Ciudad doliente de Dios (Doleful City of God), inspired in William Blake’s Prophetic Poems, published recently by Cristina Liceaga for the Escritoras Mexicanas page. (Please note that the interview is in Spanish.)
(Scroll down to read in English) Los invito a la charla virtual sobre mi novela Ciudad doliente de Dios (Alfaguara/UNAM), inspirada en los poemas proféticos de William Blake, el próximo viernes 19 de junio, a las 17.00 horas (horario de México), en el foro virtual de la cafebrería El Péndulo.Se transmitirá por FaceBook Live. También puedes acceder con este enlace. https://web.facebook.com/Cafebreria.el.Pendulo/videos/329154424748143/?_rdc=1&_rdr.
Además, en el siguiente enlace puedes leer la entrevista sobre la novela, realizada por Cristina Liceaga y recién publicada en la página Escritoras Mexicanas:
Above is the invitation to the virtual conversation on my novel Ciudad doliente de Dios (Doleful City of God), inspired on William Blake’s Prophetic Poems, next Friday 19th of June at 17.00 pm (Mexico time). The conversation will be in Spanish, via FaceBook Live, and can only be accessed through https://web.facebook.com/Cafebreria.el.Pendulo/videos/329154424748143/?_rdc=1&_rdr
I wrote this genreless piece a year ago, in the spring of 2019. It has been making the rounds with some publishers, living meanwhile in the limbo of all unpublished books. The COVID-19 pandemic is changing much, without and within. As the future shows itself to us as it really is —uncertain—, I doubt this little book will get better chances in it to see the light in a conventional way.
Yet one thing I know: that I wrote it in springtime, that springtime is central to it as an embodiment of hope, and that I want it out in the world before this strange 2020 spring—this stretched moment marked by grief, fear, and yet so much beauty— is over.
That’s why I’ve decided to venture for the first time into self-publishing. Suddenly it feels pointless to me to keep on trying to publish this text ‘properly’. The ways of the publishing industry, as they call it, seem to me now more ghostly and irrelevant than ever, far removed from the urgency which makes us put our inner experience of the world into words.
The origin of this text is strange and inevitably grim: a dream I had the day that Keith Flint, frontman of The Prodigy, passed away. I must confess here that I’m not a Prodigy fan, and I acknowledge my profound ignorance regarding their music and the culture around it. But the dream was intense, it shook and moved me, and unleashed not only a series of dreams of people I have lost, but also a deep gratitude for life and an intensified appreciation of beauty.
The whole thing was strange, and so this piece is strange itself. If you care to read it, you will find my reflections on its genesis in the afterword, where, unsure as to how to name it, I attempt to describe it as “an elegy in prose, together with a dream diary and some musings on catharsis and hero-worship in modern culture.”
If you are wondering why the title is ‘Flint’, the answer is in some dictionaries. One of the definitions of ‘flint’ is, of course, ‘firestarter’. As every Prodigy fan knows, “Firestarter” is one of the band’s greatest hits, and, immortalized in its official video, a rather apt self-portrait of Keith Flint.
Nearly a month after this journey started, a very dear friend of mine, Armando Vega Gil, decided to leave the world the same way that Keith did, so I am dedicating this piece to both of them.
I hope that on reading it —if they wish to do so—, the surviving members of The Prodigy, the band’s fans and Keith Flint’s family and friends will rest assured not only of the respect, but of the true care that animate this book. As for Armando’s fans, friends and family, I do hope they will trust my intuition in dedicating this piece to him as well, knowing how much I loved him.
If in 2019 these words were a kind of offering, and a resolute celebration of life, I’d like to believe that they can still be so now. I’ll therefore just make my offering here, humbly, perhaps darkly, in as artisan a manner as a PDF allows. A third part of whatever proceeds it makes will go to the National Suicide Prevention Alliance, another third to the NHS—a modest yet heartfelt contribution towards collective efforts to save lives, towards reaffirming the preciousness of life.
It just feels right to me that this unusual offering should go out into the world in spring, 2020. I do hope that after lockdown it may find its printed form. But we simply don’t know how the future will be like for each of us, so for now, I’m just happy to leave it as it is in your hands.
To listen to a reading of an excerpt, click on the link below.It’s the first part of the book, and it’s 16 minutes long. My apologies for the rudimentary quality. It was made with the only technology I’ve had access to during lockdown. And sorry if you struggle with my Mexican pronunciation!https://vimeo.com/413755752
Escribí este texto sin género en la primavera de 2019. Ha circulado entre algunos editores, viviendo mientras tanto en el limbo de todos los libros sin publicar. La pandemia del COVID-19 está cambiando muchas cosas, por fuera y por dentro. Ahora que el futuro se nos muestra como realmente es: incierto, dudo que este librito encuentre en él mejores oportunidadese de ver la luz de manera convencional.
Pero una cosa sí sé: que lo escribí en primavera, que la primavera es un elemento central en él, como encarnación de la esperanza, y que quiero que salga al mundo antes de que termine esta extraña primavera del 2020 —este largo momento marcado por el dolor, el miedo, y sin embargo, por tanta belleza también.
Es por eso que decidí aventurarme por primera vez en los caminos de la autopublicación. De pronto me parece que seguir tratando de publicar este texto “como debe ser” no tiene sentido. Las contingencias de la industria editorial, como le llaman, me parecen ahora más fantasmales e irrelevantes que nunca, muy distantes de la urgencia que nos hace cifrar en palabras nuestra experiencia del mundo.
El origen de este texto es extraño e inevitablemente sombrío: un sueño que tuve el día que falleció Keith Flint, cantante de The Prodigy. He de confesar aquí que no soy fan de The Prodigy, y reconozco mi profunda ignorancia en lo que respecta a su música y la cultura a su alrededor. Pero el sueño fue intenso, me sacudió y conmovió, y desató no solo una serie de sueños con personas que he perdido, sino también una profunda gratitud por la vida y una intensa apreciación de la belleza.
Todo el asunto es extraño, y por lo tanto este texto también lo es. Si lo llegas a leer, encontrarás en el epílogo mis reflexiones sobre su génesis, donde, sin saber cómo llamarle, intento describirlo como “una elegía en prosa, a la vez que un diario de sueños y algunas reflexiones sobre la catarsis y la adoración de nuestros héroes en la cultura moderna”.
Si te preguntas por qué el título es “Flint”, la respuesta está en algunos diccionarios. Una de las definiciones de “flint” (pedernal) en inglés es, por supuesto, “firestarter”. Como bien saben todos los fans de The Prodigy, “Firestarter” es uno de los más grandes hits de la banda, e inmortalizado en el video oficial, es también un muy atinado autorretrato de Keith Flint.
Casi un mes después de que empezara este viaje, un muy querido amigo mío, Armando Vega Gil, decidió dejar el mundo de la misma forma que lo hizo Keith, así que dedico a ambos este texto.
Espero que al leerlo —en caso de que deseen hacerlo—, los miembros sobrevivientes de The Prodigy, los fans de la banda y la familia y amigos de Keith Flint reconozcan no solo el respeto, sino el profundo celo que animan este libro. En cuanto a los fans, familia y amigos de Armando, confío en que aprobarán mi intuición al dedicarle este texto también a él, sabiendo cuánto lo quería.
Si en 2019 estas palabras eran una especie de ofrenda, y una decidida celebración de la vida, quiero creer que aún pueden serlo ahora. Por lo tanto haré mi ofrenda aquí, de manera humilde y quizá oscura, y tan artesanal como lo permite un PDF. Una tercera parte de lo que recaude irá a la National Suicide Prevention Alliance, y otra tercera parte al National Health Service en el Reino Unido: una contribución modesta pero sincera al esfuerzo colectivo por salvar vidas, por reafirmar el valor infinito de la vida.
Simplemente me parece correcto que esta inusual ofrenda salga al mundo en la primavera de 2020. Espero que pasado el encierro colectivo encuentre su forma impresa. Pero ninguno de nosotros sabemos cómo será el futuro, así que por ahora me contento con dejarlo en tus manos de esta forma.
Si deseas escuchar la lectura de un fragmento, haz clic en este enlace. Perdona la rudimentaria calidad. Lo grabé con la única tecnología a que he tenido acceso en la cuarentena.
I am deligthed to inform you that on Monday the 4th of May, the London Buddhist Centre will host a 7-day online meditation course, which will culminate in a day retreat to celebrate Buddha Day on 10th May.
Newcomers will get the unique opportunity to meditate in the morning on zoom with Suryagupta (the LBC’s Chair) and regulars with Jnanavaca. This will be followed by a series of meditation classes from 7-9pm each evening led by Subhadramati, Surygupta, Jnanavaca and Maitreyabandhu. They are all superb teachers.
During the whole week, and the celebration of Buddha Day on the 10th of May, the teachers will be telling the story of the Buddha’s quest.
If you haven’t been attending the LBC classes during lockdown, this is a very good moment to start. They have been crucial to my keeping sane, serene and even joyful during these trying times, while inspired by solidarity and compassion, and I know that I share the feeling with many.
Here’s a short introductory video of the course by Maitreyabandhu:
I am delighted to inform you that Quentin S. Crisp, a great friend and great author, has just launched his Patreon page, so that you can become one of his patrons and support his writing projects.
Seriously, if you care about literature, and about supporting great authors who have escaped the radar of the mainstream — which is usually a good thing as far as literary quality is concerned — , your money can hardly be better used.
I’m not saying this because he’s my friend. The invitation in this blog may be inspired by friendship, but my appraisal of his work is not. (I am fairly objective in these things, and I don’t go about praising friends publicly indiscriminately.) Quentin’s devoted and disciplined commitment to literature go hand in hand with the depth of his thought and sensitivity. He has a brilliant, questioning mind, an inspired voice, and his work is worth all the support that you can give.
For those who couldn’t attend the book launch of my novel Ciudad doliente de Dios (Doleful City of God) last 5th of December at the Residency of the Mexican Embassy in London, I am pleased to share the very generous and beautiful text read that evening by Ana Elena González Treviño PhD, Director of the Centre for Mexican Studies UNAM-UK at King’s College. The novel is inspired on William Blake’s Prophetic Poems.
I am happy to announce that my novel Ciudad doliente de Dios, recently published by Alfaguara and the Literature Department of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, will have its London launch next 5 December, at the Mexican Embassy Residence, at 6.00 pm. The event will be in English.
The novel was inspired in William Blake’s Prophetic Poems. I will be in conversation with Ana Elena González Treviño, PhD, another Blake expert and head of the Centre for Mexican Studies in the United Kingdom.
Today, November the 2nd, is the traditional Mexican celebration of the Día de Muertos (the Day of the Dead), a perfect date to see the launch of A Miscellany of Death and Folly, described by its publishers, Egaeus Press, as ‘An entertainment including works from some of the finest authors of the weird and morbid working today’.
I am most happy to be part of this miscellany with my short story ‘A Monument’, sharing its pages with other 15 authors. The book, again in Egaeus’ description, ‘is a lithographically printed, 250 page sewn hardback with colour endpapers; limited to just 300 copies’, and can be ordered here:
Egaeus Press’ books are jewels, and I hope you’ll enjoy this one!
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Hoy, 2 de noviembre, es por supuesto Día de Muertos, un día perfecto para el lanzamiento de A Miscellany of Death and Folly, descrito por los editores como “un entretenimiento que incluye obra de algunos de los mejores autores de la literatura weird y mórbida hoy día”.
Me alegra mucho ser parte de esta miscelánea con mi cuento “A Monument”, compartiendo el espacio con otros 15 autores. El libro, de nuevo en la descripción de Egaeus, es un “volumen de pasta dura de impresión litográfica, con 250 páginas, con guardas de color, y con una edición limitada a solo 300 ejemplares”. Se puede encargar aquí:
Adriana Díaz Enciso 