Daniel Link y el ensayo crítico (encuesta)

En "La posición", revista de letras, cultura y política, Daniel Link responde a una encuesta sobre el ensayo critico, como pienso que es uno de los mejores ensayistas en circulación reproduzco algunas de sus respuestas:

-¿Cuál considera es capacidad/ posibilidad de intervención política del ensayo crítico?
...habría que decir que toda lectura es estratégica y, como tal, supone un campo de batalla en relación con el cual se definen posiciones que son, por cierto, políticas...

-¿Qué líneas de la tradición del ensayo crítico nacional considera relevantes y por qué?
Hablar de “relevancia” presupone que la “tradición” no tiene conflictos. Martínez Estrada es tal vez el más ambicioso de nuestros ensayistas (un gran lector, además de un prosista envidiable). De ahí en adelante, mencionar nombres sería pecar de ingenuo, pero no podemos olvidarnos de Oscar Masotta y, más contemporáneamente, de César Aira y Alan Pauls.

-¿Cuáles son sus lineamientos de trabajo a la hora de encarar el ensayo crítico?
Descubrir cosas que antes ignoraba. Mi trabajo en general se inscribe en el campo de las literaturas comparadas, los estudios de género y la crítica del presente. Parece que insisto mucho (eso me dicen) en los procesos de institucionalización literaria y de constitución de subjetividades e individualidades.

-¿Qué ensayistas contemporáneos considera relevantes y por qué?
Los que se esfuerzan por ampliar los límites de lo legible, los que discuten las lecturas canónicas, los que se interrogan a sí mismos.

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Ezequiel Martínez Estrada
(San José de la Esquina, provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina 14 de setiembre de 1895- 4 de noviembre de 1964) escritor, poeta, ensayista, crítico literario, biógrafo, en sus escritos fue muy político, confirmando su anti-peronismo. Se identificó en su juventud con las ideas de Nietzsche , Kafka, y en sus últimos años apoyó a la Revolución cubana y a Fidel Castro.

Bibliografia indispensable
Año Trabajo
1933 Radiografía de la pampa
1940 La cabeza de Goliath
1948 Muerte y transfiguración de Martín Fierro

Fotos: Subte

Coche de la Linea A de subterraneos de Buenos Aires
Foto: blog en el subte.

Las librerias mas bellas del mundo

Sean Dodson del diario "The Gurdian" de Londres eligió las 10 librerias mas bellas del mundo. Segunda eligió "El Ateneo" de Bs As. Acá la lista completa:

Top shelves

Every booklover has their favourite shop, and while it's true that many independents have been driven out of business by online sales and supermarket bestsellers, you still don't have to look too hard to find one that's thriving. To prove it, Sean Dodson chooses the 10 bookshops from around the world which he considers to be the fairest of them all

1) Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht

What does a city do with an 800-year-old church with no congregation? Well, it could make like the Dutch and convert it into a temple of books. The old Dominican church in Maastricht was being used for bicycle storage not long ago, but thanks to a radical refurbishment by Dutch architects Merkx + Girod it has been turned into what could possibly be the most beautiful bookshop of all time. The Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen, which opened just before Christmas, retains the character and charm of the old church, while being fitted with a minimalist and modern interior design that overcomes any suggestion of fustiness. From the images you can find on the web you can see that it is a bookshop made in heaven.

2) El Ateneo in Buenos Aires

All the world's a page at El Ateneo, a bookshop converted from an old theatre in downtown Buenos Aires. As you can see from this photomontage the El Ateneo has retained its former splendour, with high painted ceiling, original balconies and ornate carvings intact. Even the crimson stage curtains remain part of the show. Comfy chairs are scattered throughout, the stage is utilised as a reading area and café, and even better, the former theatre boxes are used as tiny reading rooms.

3) Livraria Lello in Porto

Proving that purpose-built bookshops can be every bit as beautiful as converted buildings, the divine Livraria Lello in Porto has been selling books in the most salubrious of settings since 1881. Featuring a staircase to heaven and beautifully intricate wooden panels and columns (see for yourself with these gorgeous 360-degree views), stained glass ceilings and books - lots of lovely books.

4) Secret Headquarters comic bookstore in Los Angeles

A mere profiterole to the fabulous layer cakes of Porto and Buenos Aires, but the Secret Headquarters more than holds its own. Nestled in the creative cluster of Silver Lake, just east of Hollywood, this boutique store offers a sophisticated alternative to most of its rivals and has a reputation for being one of the neatest, friendliest comic stores anywhere. Canadian science fiction author Cory Doctorow rates it as the finest in the world.

5) Borders in Glasgow

The might of the Michigan-based megastore may make a lot of independent booksellers fearful, but few book lovers can fail to be beguiled by the neo-classical architecture of its behemoth Glasgow branch. Originally designed by Archibald Elliot in 1827 for the Royal Bank, Borders has occupied a prime spot on Royal Exchange Square since the millennium and won over many of the city's book lovers. People reading on the steps outside have become as much a feature of Glasgow as the traffic cone on the head of Wellington's statue. Well, almost. Would have been higher on my list if the aesthetic magnificence of the building had in any way been matched by the interior.

6) Scarthin's in the Peak District

Of course, others might prefer the altogether more earthy beauty of a shop like Scarthin Books in the Peak District. Scarthin's has been selling new and second-hand books since the mid-1970s. It has rooms full of new and old books, a delightful café and what can best be described as a small exhibition of curiosities on the first floor. It is a bookshop so beloved, that it advertises local guest and farmhouses on its websites where devotees can stay overnight.

6) Posada in Brussels

Located in a dear old house near St Magdalen's church in Brussels, Posada Books is as famous for its pretty interior as it is for its collection of new and second-hand art books. Has a remarkable collection of exhibition catalogues, which goes back to the beginning of the last century, and holds occasional exhibitions too.

8) El lugar de la Mancha in Mexico

The Polanco branch of Pendulo in Mexico City has long been known as one of the best ways to beat the heat in the largest city in the world. Although it only has a small English language section, its open architecture populated with several trees makes for an excellent afternoon's escape. In honesty, as popular for its excellent cafe as it is its books.

9) Keibunsya in Kyoto

If you love bookshops even where you can't read the language, then Keibunsya in Kyoto needs to be on your list too. Some say it's the lighting, others the well-proportioned panels around the walls. Or perhaps it's the little galleries embedded in the bookshelves. Most agree it's just the quiet dignity of the place that's hard to beat. Lots of pretty Japanese art books to marvel at and a few English language ones as well.

10) Hatchards in London

Although the bookshop of Cambridge University is technically the oldest bookshop in Britain, Hatchards of Piccadilly, which has been trading since 1797, is definitely the most aristocratic. Not only does it boast three royal warrants, meaning it supplies books to Her Majesty, it has counted Disraeli, Wilde and Byron among its regulars. Today it retains the spirit of days past, with an interior described by one follower as "reminiscent of being inside a rambling old house, with six floors of small rooms all linked together curling around a central staircase."

· This article was amended on Monday January 14 2007. Cory Doctorow is Canadian, not American. This has been corrected.