He said he questioned why few great Latin American novels after Don Quixote were written in Spanish and said his decision to write in Spanish was compelled by his need to "fill a vacuum."
Today, he is often considered to have started the "boom" of Latin American authors of the 1960s. The "boom" writers, he said, are inspired to "give voice to a silent past" because of years of colonial repression.
After speaking about his influences, Fuentes read a passage from his most recent book, The Years with Laura Diaz, which describes Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Laura Diaz's trip to Detroit where Rivera was painting the Ford automobile mural.
He read a portion of the selection in Spanish because he said it is important to hear the language.
When questioned about his ability to write about unfamiliar subjects he said, "Literature is all about language and imagination."
He described art as "expression of reality, but also a creation."
"Can we imagine reality without Don Quixote and Hamlet?" he said.
Read more in News
Growth in Early Applications SlowsRecommended Articles
-
ON BOOKST HERE'S NOTHING more loveable about the sisters in Carlos Fuentes' Orchids in the Moonlight than the force with which
-
Equal Opportunity FetishesThe rules of interracial dating are supposed to be like this: If white dates Asian, it's a "fetish." If white
-
Twenty to Work With MexicansTwenty University students will work and study in Mexico this summer under the Harvard Iberoamericano Catholic Action program. The boys
-
A Look at Carlos FuentesMexican novelist diplomat Carlos Fuentes this afternoon's principal Commencement speaker brings a unique background of political involvement and literary reflection
-
March to the Sea: Did He Just Say That?A recent Page 2 feature on ESPN.com listed the Top 10 “worst cases of foot-in-mouth” in sports history. The following
-
Mexican Poet Is Next Year's Norton LecturerOctavio Paz, a Mexican poet who resigned as ambassador to India in 1968 to protest the killing of Mexican students
