Five Quick Questions for Agustín Cadena, author of Las tentaciones de la dicha

This Wednesday's guest-blog post is in a somewhat different format-- instead of the usual 5 links, there are 5 questions for Mexican writer Agustín Cadena, apropos of his splendid new collection of short stories, Las tentaciones de la dicha. As I noted in a previous post, I've long been an admirer of Cadena's writing, and have translated some of his stories, most recently for a collection edited by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo to be published by Small Beer Press. This collection-- Las tentaciones de la dicha-- has been published by Editorial Jus in Mexico City. And check out the trailer-- it's one of the best book trailers I've seen.

Q #1: You have been living for some time in Hungary. Has Eastern European literature influenced your writing? In particular, the vampire stories?

A: I am not fully aware of the influences that are affecting my writing. It's true that I have been living in Hungary for almost eight years, but I think my inspiration sources come mainly from English and Russian literature. In relation to vampire stories, it's interesting to note that they are not really common in Eastern European literature, as many people would assume. They come rather from British and American (and nowdays even Swedish) authors.

Q #2: Has living in Hungary changed the way you see Mexico and Mexican literature?

A: I think it has. I have become more tolerant.

Q #3: How would you describe the Hungarian literary scene? (And how does it compare to Mexico?)

A: Hungary has a strong literary tradition, but this has bloomed in times of political crisis. Hungarians seem to need some degree of stress to let out the best of themselves. And I am not sure this is a good time in this sense. Most people are just happy celebrating their membership to the European Union, and trying to get all possible advantages from it. Something similar happens in Mexico, I think, though with a different background. There is a crisis in México, of course, but the literary elites do not seem to realize it. They are just too busy getting fat on grants and privileges, traveling, forging alliances, and bullying the weak. The necessary stress is missing.

Q #4: Blogging is such a new form and a radical change for those of us born in the 1960's. But with "El vino y la hiel" you've been blogging for a few years now and you have a multitude of followers. What would you advise younger writers about blogging?

A: Keep writing, keep posting, at least once a month. And try to define your profile from the beginning. Choose a few topics and keep writing about that.

Q #5: Of all the stories in this new collection, in your opinion which would best lend itself to a "vook"--- a video enhanced e-book?

A: Maybe the last one: “The Castle”.

P.S. More Cadena links:

Interview for Tameme (in English and in Spanish)

"Lady of the Seas" a short story by Agustin Cadena translated by C.M. Mayo

Las tentaciones de la dicha (Editorial Jus)

Agustín Cadena in Mexico City: Las tentaciones de la dicha

For many years now I've been a big admirer of Mexican writer Agustin Cadena's fiction. One of his short stories, "Lady of the Seas," appears in my anthology, Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion (Whereabouts Press, 2006), and another was the first Tameme Chapbook ~ Cauderno, Carne verde, piel negra / An Avocado from Michoacán (Tameme, 2007). A third translation of mine, his story "Parque Murillo," is forthcoming from Small Beer Press, in a collection edited by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo. I strongly feel that many more of Cadena's works deserve to be translated into English. For those of you who read Spanish, check out his blog, El vino y la hiel. And if you're in Mexico City this week don't miss the launch of his new collection of short stories, Las tentaciones de la dicha (Editorial Jus), with presenters Eve Gil, Miguel Couturier, and Luis Bernardo Pérez, this Thursday at 7 pm, address: Donceles 66, Col Centro (entre Rep Chile y Palma). The event is free and open to the public.

Here's the jacket text:

Hay, en las historias de Agustín Cadena, un diálogo con los aspectos tristes de la vida que sin embargo nos arrancan sonrisas y complicidades para envolvernos en la oscura magia de sus desgracias. Los cuentos que componen este libro son una muestra de ello: viejos vampiros en busca de inquilinos, una pareja que al vacacionar en las playas del mar Negro encuentra a un hombre con un misterioso maletín, un castillo convertido en hotel de lujo donde se dan cita personajes excéntricos. Una a una las historias de Las tentaciones de la dicha nos seducen, nos vuelven cómplices, nos hacen reír mientras veladamente asistimos a la pérdida de la inocencia del mundo que nos rodea.

P.S. Cadena, I am truly honored to say, is the translator of my novel, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, which comes out next month as El último príncipe del Imperio mexicano, with Random House Mondadori.

More anon.