Contributions by Juan Gómez Bárcena
Juan Gómez Bárcena (1984) has degrees in literary theory and comparative literature and history from Madrid’s Universidad Complutense and in philosophy from UNED. He has received grants from the Fundación Antonio Gala, Fundación Caixa Galicia, INJUVE, Fundación BBVA, and FONCA, and was in residence at the Spanish Royal Academy in Rome. His short-story collection Los que duermen was selected by El Cultural as one of the best debuts of 2012 and was awarded the Premio Tormenta for Best New Author. In 2014 he published the novel El cielo de Lima (Salto de Página), which won the 2014 Premio Ojo Crítico from Radio Nacional de España and the 2015 Premio Ciudad de Alcalá de Narrativa, and which has been translated into six languages. He currently lives in Madrid, where he leads creative writing workshops.
Kanada (excerpt)
Juan Gómez Bárcena
Translated by Andrea Rosenberg
You go to the window to watch the Neighbor leave. He’s accompanied by two men. They’re wearing hats pulled down tight over their ears and a sort of kerchief or scarf that leaves only their eyes exposed. But you recognize them anyway: you’ve seen them many times under this very window, carrying their portfolios and their leather briefcases. They look like they’re in a hurry, and the Neighbor is practically dragging his leg as he limps along. You watch them head down the street toward the river.
They disappear.
From the other side of the wall, the voice of the Girl again. She switches from world capitals to multiplication tables, where she seems more self-assured and more mechanical, and from there to the right and left tributaries of the Danube, and finally to a long … Read More »
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