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Santiago Kovadloff Argentina
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Santiago
Kovadloff was born in Buenos Aires in 1942. The military dictatorship forced
him to give up his university career. Today, he lives and works in Buenos Aires
as a writer and lecturer in philosophy and literature. As a poet and essayist,
he is regarded as one of his country's most outstanding intellectuals. He has
repeatedly taken a stand in the press on political and cultural issues. Since
1994, he has been writing for the German and Spanish edition of Lettre
International. Kovadloff has been awarded important prizes for his works;
in 1992 he received the First National Prize for Literature.
Pain, whether it arises
from a bodily malfunction or an intense psychic disturbance, whether it is
brought on by a lost love or an unexpected death, always forces us to brutally
realise we are not the person we thought we were anymore. It is only then that
the possibility of being someone different arises. Pain enslaves the
individual. Suffering is what the individual manages to do with pain. El
enigma del sufrimiento ("The Mystery of Suffering") is a dazzling
book, it will touch a great many readers in many different ways. The highly
respected Argentine essayist provides a fresh reflection on this unpredictable
process, capable of transporting us from pain to a moment of intense personal
enrichment.
In his poems, Kovadloff repeatedly returns to the themes of the Holocaust, man’s alienation, and transience. The essays make evident references to Jewish theosophy and Martin Buber, on whom he wrote his doctoral thesis, and who is mentioned in many of his publications.
In addition to his
philosophical works, Kovadloff also writes wonderfully droll books for
children. These stories carry children away to a bizarre, surreal world, which
inspires them to make new discoveries.
Anyone who has
read Kovadloff knows of his exquisite command of language. Each word has its
own place, each phrase its own harmonious melody. Even when he is dealing with
a heavy and sensitive subject matter, we can rest assured that the read will be
intensely pleasurable.
La Nación
Santiago
Kovadloff is a writer whom I very much admire, not only intellectually but also
and primarily spiritually and emotionally, because for me poetic thought
penetrates deeper than logical thought, and spiritual values rank higher than
everything else.
Ernesto Sábato
Original editions and rights sold:
Essays (selection):
Ciertos Hechos, 1985
Ben David, 1988
El fondo de los días, 1991
El silencio
primordial, Buenos Aires: Emecé 1993,
187 p.
Brazil: José Olympio 2003
Lo
irremediable,
Buenos Aires: Emecé 1996, 195 p.
Brazil: José Olympio 2005
Ensayos de
intimidad, Buenos Aires: Emecé 2002, 220 p.
El enigma del
sufrimiento, Buenos Aires: Emecé 2008,
283 p.
For children:
Natalia, queluces y cierto lugar, Buenos Aires: Magisterio
del Río de la Plata, 1989, 76 p.
Agustina y
cada cosa, Buenos Aires: Colihue
1989, 65 p.
El tobillo abandonado, Buenos Aires: Colihue 1991, 85 p.
República de
Evidencia, Buenos Aires: Lugar
Editorial 1993, 58 p.
Poetry:
1998, selection of poems
published in Akzente and in Rowohlt Literatur Magazin 42