Ángel Bonomini
Ángel Bonomini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 13 October 1929 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | 13 May 1994 (aged 64) |
| Spouse | Vechy Logioio[1] |
Ángel Bonomini (13 October 1929 – 13 May 1994)[2]: 15 was an Argentine short story writer, poet, and translator, best known for his novella The Novices of Lerna.
Biography
Bonomini was born in Buenos Aires on 13 October 1929.[2] At the age of 18, he published his first collection of poetry, Primera enunciación, in the magazine Sur.[2] In 1952, alongside María Elena Walsh, his then-girlfriend, published the poetry collection Argumento del enamorado. Báladas con Ángel. From 1955 to 1961, he was an editor of LIFE magazine, where he translated texts into Spanish. He was an art critic for the Argentine monthly Panorama between 1968 and 1970, and for La Nación between 1970 and 1978.[2]: 15–16 [3]
His most well-known story is The Novices of Lerna, published in 1972 in a short story collection of the same name, which was praised by Borges and Bioy Casares.[4] He won a Fulbright Grant in 1974 and the Konex Award in 1984 and 1994.[5]
Despite praise during his lifetime, Bonomini was mostly forgotten after his death.[6]
Works
During his lifetime, Bonomini wrote 90 short stories and 8 poem anthologies.[2]: 12
His early works were in the neoromantic style, however, he distanced himself from the style later on.[7] Similarities to Borges have been noted in his work.[8][9][10] His later work dealt with the metaphysical and the mystical, and is described as fantastical literature.[11][6] He influenced the work of Alberto Manguel.[3]
Several of his stories were translated and published in English in 1989, in Italian in 1982, 1983, 1989, and 1997; and in German in 1974 and 1989.[2]: 29 In 2004, his story Lentos Elefantes de Milan was published in French.[12] In 2015, the Spanish publishing house Editorial Pre-Textos published an edited anthology of his poetry collection Torres para el silencio y otros poemas; in 2017, Pre-Textos published a complete anthology of his short stories titled Todos parecían soñar in 2017, under the supervision of Alberto Manguel.[3][1]
In 2024, an English translation by Jordan Landsman of several of his short stories, including The Novices of Lerna, was published. The collection received mostly positive reviews. Natasha Wimmer praised The Novices of Lerna and the "timeless spirit" of his stories, but felt that other stories in the collection were dated.[9] Kirkus Reviews called the collection "A beguiling blend of the cerebral and the visceral."[13] Tobias Carroll, writing for Reactor Magazine, called the collection "welcome addition to Argentinian literature in translation."[14] One review from Asymptote Journal praised his lyrical style of writing.[15] John Self of The Telegraph praised The Novices of Lerna as a "bizarre and brilliant" novella, and Stuart Evers, writing for The Spectator, gave a more mixed review, criticizing the novella for not fully exploring the themes presented, but praising it as a "powerful story...hauntingly intelligent and psychically unnerving".[16][17]
References
- ^ a b Beccacece, Hugo (17 June 2018). "El arte de la elegancia moral" [The art of moral elegance]. La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Favaro, Alice (30 April 2020). "Después de la caída del 'ángel'. Ángel Bonomini: Un escritor argentino olvidado" [After the fall of the "angel". Ángel Bonomini: An almost forgotten Argentine writer] (PDF). Diaspore. 14. doi:10.30687/978-88-6969-416-5. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Manguel, Alberto (13 June 2018). "Lo fantástico, fruto de una leve casualidad" [The fantastic, fruit of a light casualness]. Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Jaramillo Agudelo, Darío (2018). "Las narraciones de Ángel Bonomini" [The narrations of Ángel Bonomini]. Revista Global (77–79). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ "Ángel Bonomini | Fundación Konex". Fundación Konex (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ a b Berti, Eduardo (11 June 2018). "Ángel Bonomini, el "maestro secreto" de la literatura argentina" [Ángel Bonomini, the "secret master" of Argentine literature]. infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Gianera, Pablo (11 June 2018). "Al rescate de Ángel Bonomini, un autor fantástico al que casi nadie leyó" [To the rescue of Ángel Bonomini, an author of the fantastic that almost nobody read]. LA NACION (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Benavides, R. F. (1977). "Review of Libro de los casos". World Literature Today. 51 (1): 73–73. doi:10.2307/40090449. ISSN 0196-3570. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ a b Wimmer, Natasha (18 July 2024). "The Watercolorist". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ "The Novices of Lerna by Ángel Bonomini". Publishers Weekly. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Colombo, Stella Maris (December 2011). "Minificción y fantástico: una fecunda articulación" [Minifiction and the fantastic: a fecund articulation]. Cuadernos del CILHA. 12 (2): 71–79. ISSN 1852-9615. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ De Ceccatty, René (16 April 2004). "LES LENTS ÉLÉPHANTS DE MILAN d'angel bonomini". Le Monde.
- ^ "THE NOVICES OF LERNA | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Carroll, Tobias (7 May 2024). "Shattered Selves and Confused Doubles: Ángel Bonomini's The Novices of Lerna". Reactor. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Spector, Jordan. "Ángel Bonomini". Asymptote Journal. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Self, John (3 December 2024). "The mysterious Argentinian novella that 'dazzled' Borges". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ^ Evers, Stuart (5 November 2024). "Doppelgangers galore: The Novices of Lerna, by Angel Bonomini, reviewed". The Spectator. Retrieved 14 December 2024.