Doncs sí. Vaig anar a La Sotana, un programa d'esports és a dir de futbol és a dir del Barça és a dir de Messi, i tot i que jo sé tant de "foòtball" com els sotaneros saben de literatura, ens ho vam passar molt bé. I al programa es nota. El teniu sencer aquí.
Des d'aquí, gràcies al Magí, l'Andreu, l'Enric, el Joel i el Manel per l'acte de promoció que més ressò ha tingut a les meves xarxes, amb diferència. El nou paradigma i tota l'hòstia.
I ara, a continuar escrivint la seqüela.
Doncs ha sortit el programa del 42 i me s'ha girat feina, que diem els premis Crexells. Òjut a l'agenda per al dia 9, perquè si no m'hi veieu heu d'anar a Can Cottet urgentment:
Conversa amb els autors.
Amb Edgar Cantero i Marc Pastor. Modera Tatiana Dunyó.
9 de novembre, 13:00h
Fabra i Coats. Sala 2 (planta baixa)
Taula rodona.
Amb Edgar Cantero, Ted Chiang, P. Djèlí Clark, T. Kingfisher, Catriona Ward i Lisa Yaszek. Modera Alexander Páez.
9 de novembre, 18:30h
Fabra i Coats. Sala 1 (planta baixa)
Club de lectura. (Cal inscripció prèvia!)
Modera Mariló Àlvarez Sanchís.
9 de novembre, 19:45h
Fabra i Coats. Sala d'actes (planta tercera)
Sé lo que estáis haciendo este último verano. Todos vosotros.
(Publicado en El Jueves, agosto 2022.)
The reviews are in, i només diuen coses boniques de Ràdio Free Camaco, l'agro-thriller que té captivada a la crítica pàtria.
 |  |
| Julià Guillamon, La Vanguardia. | Marina Espasa, Ara. |
"Com a crítics entusiastes, podríem delirar i pensar que estem davant d’un possible èxit comercial amb qualitat. Però no, tothom tranquil: amb la migrada capacitat del sistema literari català per fer d’altaveu dels bons llibres sense excessives pretensions, la recepció del llibre de Cantero quedarà en un simple boca-orella entre lectors empedreïts que passaran una boníssima estona, riuran com no ho havien fet des de fa anys amb un llibre escrit en català, es faran seguidors de Twitter de l’autor (que viu als Estats Units i, per tant, tampoc no pot fer la típica promoció agònica de llibreria en llibreria que culmina en una entrevista en horari intempestiu a can Grasset), s’hi escriuran quatre conyetes i aquí pau i després vacances d’estiu, que estem tots molt esgotats."--Marina Espasa
És un tòpic que crítica i públic solen tenir opinions divergents, però si mai li heu de portar la contrària a la crítica en alguna cosa, tant de bo sigui en això: convertiu Ràdio Free Camaco en un èxit comercial, feu-ne el llibre de l'estiu, i convertiu-me a mi en el Georgie Dann de la novel·la negra. Why not.
 |
| Foto: Montse Giralt |
"A Catalunya ningú no em fa cas", diu home de 43 anys a tots els mitjans catalans.
(Jo què sé, tios. Promocioneu-me vosaltres Ràdio Free Camaco i així podré deixar de fer-ho jo.)
Una entrevista fou feta, preguntes foren plantejades, perles de saviesa i alguna rucada van ésser dites. Àudio complet a l'enllaç.
 |
| Photo: Gianluca Battista |
Back in business. O, com diem en català, "obrim la paradeta".
Edgar Cantero (Barcelona, 1981) esdevé una promesa literària el 2007 amb Dormir amb Winona Ryder (Premi Ciutat de Badalona, Premi Joan Crexells), i el 2011 trenca aquesta promesa amb Vallvi (la que li grapen el penis). Cercant un públic per al que ell anomena "literatura de crispetes" s'acosta al mercat nord-americà, on el 2014 publica la primera novel·la en anglès, The Supernatural Enhancements. Aterra a Nova York el 2017 quan la segona, Meddling Kids, es converteix en bestseller; el 2019 es trasllada a Los Angeles per treballar en l'adaptació televisiva de la tercera, This Body's Not Big Enough for Both of Us. Són mesos de gires i festes a Hollywood. Però després esclaten una pandèmia i la bombolla de l’streaming; per desavinences amb l'editor, cancel·la la publicació del seu magnum opus. Tot se'n va a la merda perquè el creixement infinit i sostenible és mentida. Les festes es converteixen en manis; el nostre heroi es creua amb estrelles al mateix súper on roba els entrecots. Al món hi ha guerres, genocidis, i per algun motiu ell continua escrivint històries on guanyen els bons i que no veuen la llum. Una li surt en català, i li compren pel preu de dos mesos de lloguer a West Hollywood.
RÀDIO FREE CAMACO. Novel·la negra ambientada a comarques amb un toc sobrenatural i moltes risses. A la venda el 15 de maig. Ja reservable en llibreries.
(IN ENGLISH: Free Palestine.)
"This may be my sugar rush speaking from the freeze pop i sucked whole from between your thighs this morning, but i reckon we've been living together for thirty-three billion years now and still at least once a day, once an hour, i catch a pirouette in your speech or a tiny fold in the soft of your body that pulls me out of whatever i'm doing like the sight of a flying cow. And I have long accepted the idea that this is not love as movies and books discuss, that our relationship is more like one of those cosmic arrangements, a sun and moon thing for the benefit of Terran civilizations so they have something to set their calendars to."
(Notes from Heaven Park, ca. 2019)
My favorite part of the basking-in-my-brilliance period between writing 'The End' on a big manuscript (last Monday) and actually reading what I wrote (any time now) is pasting together a moodboard of motifs and aesthetics that fed the monster. It's been done before.
Does this have any positive effect on marketing, as teasers go? I don't care. But personally, two Keira Knightleys is one more than I need to be sold.
Cross your fingers for this one.
[Edited June 30 for new 8048 logo.]
Querida Evelyn,
Déjate de micromachismos y realidades trans, que mira que te gusta politizarlo todo, y hablemos de lo importante: MODA DE VERANO. ¿Dónde están esas tips? ¡Quiero saber!
Atentamente,
Aries apolítica
Querida Aries,
Cada año, con cada nueva estación, fans por doquier me consultan sobre las tendencias de turno, y mi respuesta es siempre la misma: lee el Vogue, W y Harper’s Bazaar; ojo a las big four (London, Milano, Paguí, Ñuyor), y sobre todo, sé tú misma. Y cada año noto que estos consejos no satisfacen a gente como tú, militantes hardcore de la moda que exigís reglas, no directrices. Entonces pienso si debería deciros que la moda es una farsa. Que los diseñadores son esclavos de sus juntas de accionistas; los costureros son esclavos, a secas; y los redactores, estilistas y fotógrafos son nepobabies o becarios de 36 años, todos los cuales viven de o con sus padres. Pienso si debería divulgar que las tendencias de verano, como cada año, fueron dictadas durante el plenilunio de mayo en un ritual secreto en la azotea del edificio de Condé Nast, por boca de las gurús supremas de la moda, trece mujeres que juntas suman tres mil años y llevan tantas vaginoplastias que sus coños ya son técnicamente palimpsestos, y que en un éxtasis de canapés y cocaína, entre espasmos y autolesiones, gritan conceptos aleatorios como “¡colores energy!”, “¡safari urbano!” o “¡bolsos con dientes!”, y unos amanuenses ciegos los escriben y envían a las revistas. Pero sé que no es lo que quieres oír, Aries. Porque tú no buscas iluminación: buscas un agarradero, un quitamiedos, una biblia, un autócrata, orden en el caos. Porque como todas las personas apolíticas, Aries, eres de derechas. Así que aquí va: Animal prints, lencería vista, transparencias, lentejuelas, grunge. De nada.
Atentamente,
Evelyn
Publicado en la revista El Jueves, Mayo 2023
Jo enllestint un manuscrit en català com si no portés sis anys picant portes a Jòlivut:
I don't particularly like xmas (this would've been "I hate xmas" ten years ago), but I do love what comes after it. The days between xmas and the end of the year do not count. They are the calendar's moral-free zone. You can do crimes. I think. Certainly you can ignore all emails, forgo all underwear, and just eat sweets and watch holiday movies till you fall asleep.
I see a lot of holiday movie lists around, but I think there are some underrepresented gems. I'm here to correct this. Also I'm here cause a 2023 wrap-up felt underwhelming. Not that I didn't write a lot. And signed some publishing contracts. Stay tuned.
Why it's xmassy: Same reason Die Hard is.
Though the premise foreshadows Bourne so accurately that Brian Cox plays the exact same role, I feel like this is an overlooked Die Hard-derivative: directed by John McTiernan (Die Harder) and with Samuel L. Jackson as the funniest out-of-depth sidekick since himself in Die Hard with a Vengeance. Geena Davis is amazing (in both roles) and she and Jackson make one of the best buddy couples to ever bicker in a car while blowing up very expensive movie sets. I love them more with every rewatch.
Why it's xmassy: Happens in the days that don't count.
Around 2005, and for several more years, I used to go to the movies every Wednesday, no matter what. And I'd watch whatever was on. This led me to see lots of movies I didn't care for, and others I've come to adore. This is one of the latter, and walking into the theater without having even glimpsed at a synopsis made it all the better. The first thirty-five minutes can be summed up as "weird shit happens to Adrien Brody". Around that 35-minute mark something happens, and you're like, "oh, so this is what this film is about". It's a feeling I try to recreate often in my work, without success, mostly cause every note-giver in this business is like, "if I don't know what i'm reading in the first five pages I'll die". Anyway. Great story with some fantastic lines, beautiful photography (I love all the random close-ups on body parts), Keira Knightley, and a loveable pre-007 Daniel Craig to boot.
Why it's xmassy: Scroogey vibes.
Ok, so this one doesn't happen on xmas. Bite me. It's a masterpiece. It's my favorite Michael Douglas, my favorite David Fincher, and it's A Christmas Carol on cocaine. Ebenezer Scrooge went through a lot that night, but he wasn't buried alive in Mexico. And at least for him it was ghosts, not a corporation that owns a skyscraper, which is truly frightening. Oh, the omens. Oh, the doom. Oh, the emotional journey.
Why it's xm--Oh.
Talk about corporations pulling the strings of magical redemption trips. Well, I like musicals. I'm that kind of person. And I've watched this one every year since it came out, so that must mean something. (It means I have a crush on Sunita Mani. Don't tell her.)
Why it's xmassy: Because of the xmas party they keep flashing back to.
Yeah, I do watch his one far more frequently than xmas happens. So what. It's a crown jewel. Back to my days of walking into movie theaters unprepared, I saw this and I felt like an idiot. It was slow, boring, I couldn't follow the plot and I understood nothing. Some time later I gave it another chance, watched it at home, pausing and going back every time I thought I'd missed something. And now it's one of my favorite films ever. Top 20. Maybe 10. Who cares. Movie good, Gary Oldman smart, Edgar like. By the time the scene above comes at the end of the film, underscored by Julio Iglesias' rendition of La Mer, I'm on my feet.
I may add a few more later, but this was already more work than I'm supposed to do on December 30th. Good afternoon. And Happy New Year.
He desfibrilado un blog que llevaba SIETE AÑOS muerto para hablar de Ibáñez. Porque el mundo estaba esperando mi opinión, creo yo.
Ibáñez y tal - soyunautorderelleno.blogspot.com
IN ENGLISH: Nah, this one really doesn't concern you.
Things are dire in Sillywriterland, but let not my everyday struggle distract me from key events. Sinéad O'Connor died today.
Enough people are glossing her legacy, so I'll speak from unfiltered subjectivity: she's in my top 3 musicians ever. I discovered her first two albums in my early 20s: literally found the LPs in the basement and waited till I was alone at my parents' to play them. They blew me away. To hell with the narrative of the one-hit-wonder; don't buy it. "Nothing compares 2 u" is an anecdote. The Lion and the Cobra is raw power; I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got is power with a flourish. The Year of the Horse (concert recorded in Amsterdam) is astounding. Those two LPs' sleeves went on to decorate my home of nine years (the European versions; Americans imposed a different photo for The Lion because the original scared them). On my first trip to NYC I listened to her the whole flight back (I was very sad to return). "It's All Good" is my fave song to play on repeat while hiking in the violet hours. I hear "John I love you" + "My Darling Child" in my head when I curl up and cry. I went to see her live in Barcelona in 2008 and sent her a book with a novella I'd written inspired by "Jackie" and translated to English for her alone. My longest comic (24 pages) is dedicated to her. If you liked The Supernatural Enhancements, know Niamh would not exist without Sinéad.
I wish to be capable of such anger and such tenderness as Sinéad O'Connor. May you rest in power. Is breá liom tú.
