Fernando Arrabal

Fernando Arrabal was just named "Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur" in Paris. And I am very, very happy about it because it says a lot about the standing of France and Arrabal, both. Great country and great writer. Also because we correspond now and started doing so years ago when I was teaching at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. and he was almost a nobody (although he was mentioned by Martin Esslin in his "The Theater of the Absurd", a must). Congratulations Monsieur Arrabal... happy to hear about it.

Experts and know-it-alls

One feature I just love about the character of Spaniards is that they know about everything, no matter what. You name it: language, literature, science, law, the US., Outer Mongolia... so much so that one seldom hears "I don't know". Everybody knows, more and better... This is, of course, a far cry from the attitude adopted by Americans who are willing to admit their ignorance and are ready to learn. Sometimes -often- the so-called expert is not qualified with a solid background, but that is irrelevant here. But I am not complaining -I try not to be a complainer or a blamer- quite the contrary, it's wonderful and a blessing to have so many walking encyclopedias around. No need to visit libraries, which is a waste of time... (here). There are experts galore. Amando de Miguel is one such and comes to mind because not only does he speak English "perfectly" (whatever that means), he also pontificates about language although he says he teaches sociology. I envy these people because, in my case, I know less and less as I grow older and the time will come -soon, I am afraid- when I will be sure of nothing at all.

Books, Reading and hard Facts

Reading a book per week is quite a feat, as most people never ever get to do that, whatever they might say to the contrary. So, here come the facts: One book per week makes 52 books per year. In 10 years 520... In 20 years 1,040 ONLY... That means that if we read 1 novel per week -and that's a lot of reading, let me tell you- in 20 years we can only boast of 1,040 titles read, and understood, let us hope. And we must keep up with the great works of literature of all time; the books that must be read by all educated people: titles by Cervantes, Cicero, Tolstoy, Plato, Baroja, Molière, Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe... So, how many can we actually read in a lifetime? And read we must, or else we run the risk of living in the dark, in the night of ignorance. My conclusion is that we cannot spend our time diddling around and reading useless books produced by dubious writers and must recourse instead to what we know can teach us something. And as Jorge Santayana said in Three Philosphical Poets: "The only purpose in possessing great works of literature lies in what they can help us to become". (I am quoting from memory.) We should reflect on this.

Might be of interest

I was just musing that this address might be of interest:
www.ed-serbal.es/relacionados.asp?cadena=Delfín Carbonell Basset
That's all for today.