Women wave hits Latin American literature: Eduardo Rabasa

Kochi: Marquez the Malayali is passé; there are new sprouts in the Latin American literature whom Malayalis must turn to, if one goes by what Mexican writer and publisher Eduardo Rabasa says. And moreover, a wave of women writers is out there, he said.  Mexican writer Valeria Luiselli is one of the most promising writers in Latin American literature. "The works of Luiselli, born in 1983, have been translated into more than 30 languages," Mr Rabasa said, while speaking in a session on 'contemporary Mexican literature' at the Krithi International Literary Festival on Thursday.

"Argentine writer Samanta Schweblin, whose novel Fever Dream was recommended for Booker Prize, short-story writer Mariana Enríquez and Brazilian poet Angélica Freitas.. the list is quite robust," Mr Rabasa, who is also the director of the publishing house Sexto Piso, said. Mexicans are now struggling to take on capitalism sponsored by the United States given that the Cuban revolution and the Latin American boom that kept the spirits high have ended, he said. "The traditional left in Mexico has joined hands with the rightist forces. This, in effect, has led to the belief that the left has also failed the people."

The social conditions have a big impact on the Mexican literature. "The war on drugs has resulted in the death of more than a lakh people while the fate of more than 30,000 people is unknown. This has resulted in a new genre called narco novels," he said.  His publishing house, a venture of youngsters, is facing big competition from the established ones. "However, we have published more than 400 titles in a country where a person reads three and a half books on average a year," he said.