Critical Mass

Scott McLemee Talks to Marcela Valdes About Roberto Bolaño

By Eric Banks

In his “Intellectual Affairs” column, NBCC board member Scott McLemee wrote yesterday about his conversation with Marcela Valdes, herself a former board member who wrote the introductory essay in The Last Interview and Other Conversations.It's a fascinating conversation, ranging over issues from the status of translation in American literary culture to the critical predilections of the author. And it whets the appetite for the translated collection of Bolano's nonfiction writing, which Valdes notes should arrive in 2011.