In the history of the illustrious castaways of literatureSalvador of Liguria, the priest abandoned at sea in the last novel of Guillermo Piro; might well claim a fair place. This Neapolitan canon, born in the 18th century and protagonist of “The castaway without an island” (Interzona) He finds himself involved, almost unintentionally, in an adventure between life and death, for which he is barely prepared. Thrown into the ocean from the ship on which he begins his journey, he barely survives thirst and hunger. In the drift of it, the appearance of a volcanic island is the climax. But that island represents a contradiction: on the one hand, it is a concrete ground to cling to; but, on the other, an unbreathable territory of heat and ash, which can disappear at any moment.
Poet, narrator, translator and cultural journalist, Guillermo Piro He is a writer with a long career, author of the novels “Versions of Niagara”, “Celeste y Blanca” and “La comedia de una madre”; and translator of Juan Rodolfo Wilcok, Roberto Benigni, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Ermanno Cavazzoni and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Culture Editor at Diario Perfil, his weekly columns are a true literary event for the publication’s readers.
Here, his dialogue with NOTICIAS.
NEWS: How did you come up with the idea for the novel?
Guillermo Piro: Translating a book, the “Atlas of Micronations”, by Graziano Graziani, which talks about a volcanic island that emerged about 30 km away. of the Sicilian coast in 1831, and how at that time, since a British ship was passing there, the small island was declared property of Great Britain and adopted the name Graham Island. Shortly after, the French planted a flag, who called it Julia Island, and then the Spanish, who did not even bother to give it a name. The thing worried Fernando II of Bourbon, who appropriately named it Fernandindea Island and sent a volcanologist to carry out studies. Upon his return he reassured everyone by saying that he was sure that just as the island had emerged, it would soon submerge again. Which actually happened: the Sicilians always knew much more about volcanoes than the French, the British and the Spanish. Today it is submerged and visited by divers. From there I remembered the known shipwrecked stories and realized that that story was missing: that of the castaway who finds a volcanic island in the middle of the sea where he cannot disembark.
NEWS: Did anything in particular excite you about the figure of the castaway? What literary castaways did you like?
Piro: I am attracted to the adventures of shipwrecked people in general, as long as they are imaginary: in literature the truth is boring. Excluded from the long list of books about castaways, then, is García Márquez’s “Story of a Shipwrecked,” which I did not read. Robinson and Gulliver to the nameless castaway by César Aira, what attracts me to the genre is the solitary exercise (literature) about loneliness, which is equivalent to a redoubled literary exercise, squared. But I also consider castaway novels to be those starring the last inhabitants of the world, where no island appears. “The Purple Cloud”, by MP Shiel, is a novel about a castaway; as are “Black Mirrors”, by Arno Schmidt; “The Wall”, by Marlene Haushofer; “The Earth Remains,” by George Stewart; “Dissipatio HG”, by Guido Morselli, or “Man appears in the Holocene”, by Max Frisch. Any character who is alone is a castaway. And even he can be accompanied, like the shipwrecked man in Wilcock’s story, who voluntarily shipwrecks in his own house, accompanied by his wife, and whose condition of shipwreck does not prevent him from going to work every day. Or like the character in “The Floating City” by Verne, who dreams of being shipwrecked and finally achieves it. Being castaway is a condition, more than an accident: you are born castaway.
NEWS: The character’s relationship with the island is one of love, he refuses to abandon it even if it is dangerous. Is it the law of toxic loves?
Piro: Yes, I suppose toxic love is toxic because at the same time it grants things that are not toxic at all. The island is dangerous but it gives him something in return: the vision of the mainland, the spectacle, the light, the hope that the activity will subside and he can disembark, the hope of having some hope.
NEWS: Is there any possibility of a second part?
Piro: Absolutely not.
NEWS: In an interview he said that he liked translating more than writing. Because?
Piro: Translating is a very frustrating activity, translation is something impossible. But at the same time, being able to bring a good text to someone who otherwise wouldn’t be able to read it is… satisfying. Because others always write better than you.
NEWS: A question to the cultural journalist. What do you like and what is missing from Argentine literature today?
Piro: I like fantasy. He lacks fantasy.
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