Lexicon of Affinities
Published on 21. January 2025
233 pages
978-1-913867-60-7 (ISBN)
Description
A prowl through words reveals the unstable character of the cosmos.
With entries as varied as 'elbow', 'Ophelia', 'progress', the painter Giorgio Morandi, 'chess', 'Eulalia' (a friend of the author's aunt), and 'unicorn', Ida Vitale constructs a dictionary of her long and passionately engaged artistic life. Taking the reader by the arm, she invites us to become her confidant, sharing her remarkable 20th century as a member of a storied generation of Latin American writers, of whom she is the last remaining alive. It's a compendium of friendship, travel, reading, and the endless opportunities she found for 'the joyful possibility of creation.' Like every dictionary, Lexicon of Affinities seeks to impose order on chaos, even if in its exuberant, whimsical profusion it lays bare the unstable character of the cosmos.
With entries as varied as 'elbow', 'Ophelia', 'progress', the painter Giorgio Morandi, 'chess', 'Eulalia' (a friend of the author's aunt), and 'unicorn', Ida Vitale constructs a dictionary of her long and passionately engaged artistic life. Taking the reader by the arm, she invites us to become her confidant, sharing her remarkable 20th century as a member of a storied generation of Latin American writers, of whom she is the last remaining alive. It's a compendium of friendship, travel, reading, and the endless opportunities she found for 'the joyful possibility of creation.' Like every dictionary, Lexicon of Affinities seeks to impose order on chaos, even if in its exuberant, whimsical profusion it lays bare the unstable character of the cosmos.
Reviews / Votes
"A vibrant and playful memoir-in-dictionary-form...a joyous celebration of a life well lived, with entries that range from the simple to the titanic." -Literary Hub"Vitale's prose is drop dead gorgeous." -Jeremy Garber, Powell's Bookshop
"Extraordinary... giving due attention to Vitale's prose will bring you reassurance and optimism." -Lunate
"This book wants you to pick it up and open it at any random page to find illumination." -el roommate
"In Lexicon of Affinities, the celebrated Uruguayan poet and essayist embraces the form of a personal dictionary, using language itself to bring shape to a life marked by exile, friendships, and moments of strange beauty." -World Literature Today
"Indispensable... [Vitale's] language... has a precision that reminds us that memory exists: that today precision is an act of distinction and recognition." -Letras Libres
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Illustrations
Not illustrated
ISBN-13
978-1-913867-60-7 (9781913867607)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Ida Vitale (Uruguay, 1923) is a poet, translator, essayist, and literary critic. In 2018, she was just the fifth woman to receive the prestigious Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the highest recognition for literature in Spanish. In addition to the Cervantes Prize, she has also received the FIL Literature Prize (2018), Max Jacob Prize (2017), Federico Garcia Lorca Poetry Prize (2016), Reina Sofia Poetry Prize (2015), Alfonso Reyes Prize (2014), and Octavio Paz Prize (2009), as well as many other honours, including being named by the BBC as one of the 100 most influential women of 2019.
Sean Manning is a translator from Spanish and French. He has translated numerous works by such authors as Carlos Pereda, Eduardo Lalo, Edouard Glissant, Gabriela Polit Duenas, Azahara Palomeque, and Ricardo Piglia. His translation of Ida Vitale's Byobu (Charco Press, 2021) was shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Prize. His work has also appeared in Asymptote , Exchanges , AzonaL , The Common , and Review . He has a PhD in Spanish and Latin American literature from the University of Texas at Austin, where he is currently a Lecturer teaching courses on language, literature, and writing.
Sean Manning is a translator from Spanish and French. He has translated numerous works by such authors as Carlos Pereda, Eduardo Lalo, Edouard Glissant, Gabriela Polit Duenas, Azahara Palomeque, and Ricardo Piglia. His translation of Ida Vitale's Byobu (Charco Press, 2021) was shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Prize. His work has also appeared in Asymptote , Exchanges , AzonaL , The Common , and Review . He has a PhD in Spanish and Latin American literature from the University of Texas at Austin, where he is currently a Lecturer teaching courses on language, literature, and writing.
