Arrebato [madrid]
I used to live in Madrid, but now I only go when I’m able, and feel like it. When I get there I perform certain rituals, like a pilgrim arriving at Santiago de Compostela. One is to have a beer at a great bar called Pepe Botella, and another is to give in to the temptation of Arrebato (“Rapture”), a bookstore on La Palma street, right in the middle of Malasaña. It’s a second-hand bookstore, but that second hand has a soft touch. Pepe, the bookseller, finds objects of value to the literary sybarite and offers them up for sale instead of keeping them for himself, which is what I would do. It’s not like Tipos Infames, a nearby bookstore with a Michelin star for selling new work. It’s a space for exploration, a place where you never know what you’re going to find. Pepe knows everything about Spanish and Spanish American poetry, and laughs a little when he sees me with the Stephen King novels I scoop up from this fount to feed my collection spilling from my arms. I tell him I’m a bit of a freak, and he indulges me. Then we get to talking about poets, about our friend Ajo Micropoetisa, and about the situation in Spain. Arrebato is my School of Continuing Education.
I did penance there, once.
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Arrebato Libros – La Palma 21 – Madrid
[ + bar ]
A Love Story
Bernardo Carvalho translated by Max Seawright
1.
He haggles over fish at the wharf. He’s done it since before his tenth birthday. His mother makes him. It’s no accident he... Read More »
Yolanda Castaño
“Aquí o que nos falla é que non nos sabemos vender”, queixábase seguido o teu patio de veciños; pero cando chegou para o quinto dereita aquel tipo que si o sabía... Read More »
The Skies of Brasilia: an interview with João Almino
Jonathan Blitzer
Jonathan Blitzer: You’re originally from northern Brazil—Mossoró—but your novels bring you to the geographic heart of the country: Brasilia. How did you wind up... Read More »
Book Market [lviv]
Natalka Sniadanko Translated from Ukrainian by Jennifer Croft
“No photos,” barks the geezer wearing the typically Soviet hat with the visor, synthetic leather sandals, an untucked shirt, and pants... Read More »