Rodrigo Rey Rosa

Rodrigo Rey Rosa ( * November 4, 1958 in Guatemala City ) is a Guatemalan writer and translator. In 2004 he was awarded the Guatemalan National Prize for Literature ( Premio Nacional de Literatura de Guatemala).

Biography

Born into a middle class family from Guatemala City - paternal Italian roots -; went Rey Rosa, he remembers a lot with his parents on trips; through Mexico and Central America, but also to Europe. The first time he went away alone immediately after high school, he was 18 years old. He went to London and after he toured the Old Continent (Europe). Since he had little money, he worked in Germany, and from there it was on to Spain.

After a year on travel, he returned to Guatemala back, but in 1979 he left his native country again due to the prevailing atmosphere of " violence and tension". He settled in New York, where he indeed enrolled in film school, but did not reach a degree.

At the time of his arrival in the United States for about a year he devoted himself been seriously writing and had published a story in the magazine Imparcial. For admission to the School of Visual Arts in New York he also wrote a story in English. He studied there for two years Cinematologie, 1983, he left them again, however. The largest part of the following year he spent in Morocco; six weeks he was in the literary writing workshop of Paul Bowles in Tangier, and toured the country. Later he dedicated some works these experiences in North Africa.

His relationship and friendship with Bowles impressed him deeply. The U.S. author translated his first works into English and made it known in the English-speaking world.

In addition, he was friends with the Spanish painter Miquel Barceló, whose art illustrated some of his books. He also wrote a work, which he dedicated to the elaboration of the dome of Room of the Human Rights Council of the UN.

In 1992/93 he returned to Guatemala back and has since been held in a state of constant " comings and goings " (New York, Colombia, Spain, Morocco), even though he has settled in the region of Petén, where he became a house has near Río La Pasión Sayaxché on. He also owns an apartment in Guatemala City, but he himself admits that this is not a place where he could work.

Awarded the National Prize for Literature, the Premio Nacional de Literatura in 2004 Rodrigo Rey Rosa wrote works that represent his country at the center.

The translation work takes an important place in his art. He usually Switch between literary work and translating. " I usually work between working on a book on a translation. This is very useful to find solutions. In terms of the creative process you feel less anxiety, but it can be a long and complex process, especially if you the work that you translated, respected, " he said in this regard.

Rodrigo Rey Rosa also worked as a journalist and also published in 2004 Lo quesoñó Sebastián (What Sebastian dreamed ), a 83- minute film, which he dedicated to Bowles. The film, for the Rey Rosa has directed, based on his novel, the screenplay he co-wrote with Robert Fittman. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and also shown at the International Film Festival in Berlin.

Many of his books have been translated into other languages ​​, such as into French, German, Dutch, Italian or Japanese.

For his work Rey Rosa explained in 2011: "If I talk to myself, I would say that my writing was initially abstract. I started to write what is called prose poems, stories of half a page, which is finally Cárcel de árboles ( dt.Gefängnis of trees ) widened, which is my first long poem. For me it was to write a big jump texts that are more than 15 pages long. Previously, I had two collections of short stories - Elcuchillo del mendigo and Elaguaquieta - dealing with issues that can happen in any city in Latin America, but are not related to the environment or the surrounding countryside. Due to the described objects, or through the countryside, you can suggest that they play in Latin America, but you never know exactly where they play, because I was in fact a bit vague and einbaute no names of places. My youngest text, however, on which I am working, in modern-day Guatemala and includes recognizable characters and aspects, in a kind of "realistic zeal the environment, the language to reflect the clothing of the people - in contrast to my previous stories. I would say that I sort of wanted out from fatigue after other forms of storytelling, but I do not think it's an evolution. I started to write things a little vague and I then tends to greater accuracy. It may be a return, I do not know if it was a progression, but there is a difference. "

About his style of writing, he says: " I forbid me more about the story to know than what occurs during the writing I 'm doing first, never a sketch in the writing process I may know what the novel needs I suspect me.. the role of the reader in the displaced ".

Awards

• Premio Nacional de Literatura Miguel Ángel Asturias ( National Prize for Literature Miguel Ángel Asturias ), 2004

Work

• El cuchillo del mendigo, stories, Publicaciones Vista, Guatemala, 1986
• Cárcel de árboles, stories, Fundación para las Letras Guatemalteca, 1991
• El cuchillo del mendigo. El agua quieta, stories, Barcelona, ​​Seix Barral, 1992 Actually, two books have been combined. Cuchillo El del mendigo and EL AGUA quieta. The first contains 26 stories, the second 12
• Cárcel de árboles. El salvador de buques, short stories and novel. Barcelona, ​​Seix Barral, 1992
• El salvador de buques, novel, Publicaciones Vista, Guatemala, 1993
• Con cinco barajas, personal anthology of short stories, Mexico, UNAM, 1996
• Lo que Sono Sebastian Anthology: novel and short stories, Barcelona, ​​Seix Barral, 1994
• Cojo El bueno, Roman, Madrid, Editorial Alfaguara, 1996 The Lost revenge, from the Guatemalan Spanish by Erich Hackl, Rotpunktverlag, 2000, ISBN 3858692050

• The executioners of peace, from the Guatemalan Spanish by Erich Hackl, Wagenbach Verlag, 2003, ISBN 3803124743

• Tangier, from the Guatemalan Spanish by Arno Gimber, Rotpunktverlag, 2002, ISBN 3858692484

• Stables, from the Guatemalan Spanish by Elizabeth López- Semeleder, seventh Verlag, 2014, ISBN 3902711302