Journalist and writer, author of Night Swim realize the network that connects your life and work, good and bad times. History when he was with and upstream
I love to read a little after much Borges Arlt.
I like going against the grain.
Juan Forn.
But now it was late, the waiter was slow to bring the toast and Juan Forn step on the car "because, he says, staring at the next turn, I do not like it is expecting one." Brakes, close the door and crosses the street at a trot. As he enters the school, a dance step canchero, he hits the hand of a classmate of her daughter who smiles. Within seconds, 9 year old Matilda is going to get into the car, he I will explain that you are doing a story and she will insert the greeting with a mischievous complaints because they gave too much homework. Papa John is looking mirror melt. ***
"This library gives me bad, is always empty and has some beautiful books," he says when I come and look from the center of the room shelves. It gives me time to settle down in the chair and shake a little sand that inevitably sticks to jeans and gets into the shoes for more than a walk on the sidewalks.
- I went to Newman, the college of Macri, De Narvaez, de Prat Gay. Macri from twelve years and began to show of their wealth. Assembled a team and scored in a tournament of amateurs, these inter-countrys like him that Diego left the Tower. As I played well I could attend. He was an alternate but was his team and I would pick a guy in a car to go. We played with the full team of Holland. I had never played in a team where everyone had the same shirt, same socks, same pants. We had everything. And when I finished school I remember I said that I would not play anymore because I was going to Europe. "Oh you go? Do you ski? "-Imitates some rage-" To live? How do you go on a cargo plane? , What do you mean again? " He stops opening his mouth and makes a face of wonder all on actuated "I did not say that the aircraft company was my dad, but good. But as I was sleeping on a plane between the horses.
Juan asks me Tute. Always swore in its class, the environment where you happened to be born and reared. That place where "you have to do what he did your old and thinking what the family thinks" "For the kids (the school) was crazy, they told me because he used the Forn Topper basketball red shoes. For them, the worst was that you liked the rock. I wore them because they were a sign of identity, Charly had used the bye to Sui.
After twenty years John lived in Sitges (Barcelona, \u200b\u200bSpain) in a community of exiles who painted mud houses and put the money he got from that into a common fund. He added his salary and together they shared lavacopas up spending daddy used to play football. The writer says that "those who were there" helped almost Brotherhood organization and explains: "People still kept coming up in Argentina or other Latin American countries falling with nothing."
- There was a family in the district that were like five brothers militants. One of them told me, a night of drinking, who had escaped through the roof running with women. He went with his daughter in his arms, the woman running them back and the soldiers. Suddenly you hear a loud noise and see how the woman wheel and falls three stories high. And he had to follow. What would you say? I was there because I felt suffocated in Argentina - said in a tone of disgust toward the same "I wanted to be free and writer ... Stop fooling around.
After traveling with a europass "Topper" Forn "was found one day with his parents in the De Gaulle Airport in France. They had come with a return ticket and third letters of his friends.
"I convinced and went back. Get here and would not study anything, Argentina was in the process, I had left in disgust. And I put the old pressure because I was supposedly the best student of the school and "What happened to this guy who does not want to study and not do anything?". A friend of my parents said to me Emecé enter: "At least going to be in books until you decide what you want to do." And I remember I went in and a month I published a poem in The Nation and read the owner of the publishing Bonifacio del Carril, the daughter did read. I went in there for 10 years and went up and up. Translated books, published my first novel, directed the collection of Argentine writers, etc. But then I hired the Planet. Was 29 years and commands you told me. I could not believe.
Forn's first novel was originally titled Captive Hearts above and their reissues became one heart. He wrote it while attending a workshop that dictated Abelardo Castillo and the latter had invited him after having read the first two chapters of what would later be his first. Forn laughs when he recalls discussions with the author of Chronicles of an Initiate, about what the end should have Hearts or the times at which they met among themselves to correct their writing.
- What happens is that it is more fun because nothing more fun that you question the text. He thought everything. There are writers who write faster. With Castillo, whatever you ask, almost certainly what you thought you are saying and was even further. Then when he got a celebrated Abelard, you gave the victory lap around the table and came back. And that we did together, we stayed hours. He was amused as me, I said: "The dictionary says that maybe if you can not put the following word begins with a vowel" and he "I care three the fuck what the dictionary says." "Well, but that the dictionary says," No says that! ". He was looking at one, I in another.
Why use the second person to tell at Hearts?
- Because the kidnapping of a U.S. novelist named Jay Mc Inerney. And besides I saw that the story was, for a kid of 13 years, the voice was perfect for allegedly adolescence is the first time in life where there is a psychologically split and you look from outside. But it was a labor to write in second person. You know the work you have to do to avoid the cacophony?
you At times you allow even the use of free indirect style.
- What is free indirect style? - I put in check and laughs while frowning.
The resource uses Mario Vargas Llosa's Conversation in the Cathedral for example.
- What a great book! Yes, I use it. But it is a mark of an era. That's one thing when I was training, when he devoured books like vitamins, the novels have to be complicated. As everyone had forced something, all books had forced some Latin American novels, had a difficult stylistic Sheitan.
Cortazar Rayuela, The Death of Artemio Cruz Fuentes ...
"Yes everyone, Hopscotch, The Death of Artemio Cruz, The Obscene Bird and night, Vargas Llosa was for me the most technically gifted. They were all books that had something like that. I somehow ended celebrated when narcissistic experimentation that characterized American literature in the eighties, but what happens is that what came later when there was no experimentation is a flatness.
After his first novel, the then editor of Metro, published his book of short stories Night Swim. These stories are highlighted a story titled the book and the dangerous edge of things. "On the Drogon" he says.
Swim Night tells the story of a man who spends a short vacation in a rented house and a sleepless night is visited by his father died some years ago. "That's how I hit," says Forn and that he wrote after his death the father of a friend and also with his lies and dreams died.
- My wife at the time had come to the writing of my first novel, the death of my father and when I start writing Swim Night she studied psychology. We were to separate, things were not going well. A week after the story ended, I show and say, "I thought you had already done with your father." So I then said, "I separated from the mare that I have broken balls" (sic). And she ends up being the girl in the Karma of Certain girls. And today I am married her and have a daughter.
dangerous edge of things by hand knot is the main character stay in an apartment in "the city of Buenos Aires" which works great as a cocaine addict after.
- Actually when I was almost finished the dangerous edge of things, I did not take market yet. I smoked Faso, had ever taken any pit and seen people taking market ahead of me, but I did not take. And there was a mine that was called the Red San Roman, who was the dealer of all the atmosphere of rock. On the other hand, had a kid who is a film critic Trash (a character, one of the more terminals merqueros I know) and this got a line type to go buy a Saturday market at half past twelve a Chilean writer called Fuguet. Fuguet the next day comes and says, "You do not know the place I was, I do not know anyone but I'm sure there were people on TV."
write the story, published in Swim Night and the month had a party at El Dorado (a nightclub). Suddenly I'm dancing and see a petite red-haired, ten years older than me, holding me with his nails clavándomelas in the neck and says, "You're a bastard, because of you I almost dropped the cane ". And I say, "Do you who you are? Who knows you petite? " ... "I'm Adriana San Roman." Then comes Cecilia Roth, takes me aside and says, "it is San Román Boludo grabs you fire in your book." Then when I met Cecilia Fito and we met at the home of Fito and she never had good vibes with me. Apparently she had a daughter he learned.
John is thinking about what you just said. Is wearing a shirt of those that are short and long sleeve at a time, simulating a shirt on top of another. Chest on the brown fabric, has drawn a giant marijuana plant with flowers that could be the dream of every smoker sativa. When we finish the interview is going to tell me now está “esperando que abran el primer bar donde se pueda fumar libremente un porro” y aclara: “Yo no puedo tomar alcohol y por ahí salimos con amigos y yo veo como los otros suben y suben y yo estoy siempre en el mismo lugar”. Un bar donde permitan fumar marihuana… “Ya estamos cerquita”, pienso, no falta tanto para que Juan pueda fumar legal. Afuera unos chicos juegan un picado y gritan fuertísimo cada gol.
Antes de arrancar la entrevista mencionaste el “El Ego-trip de dirigir Planeta”.
- Sí. Cuando yo entré a la editorial me dijeron: “Los libros que vos quieras publicar se publican y acá tenés 25 mil dólares para contratar libros”. I hired at a rate of $ 500 each, and all happy. That began the South library had a fully comprehensive profile and some were re trendy, the collection was canchera and for others it was more open mentality. Above, I was one of the books fetish collection was mine ... I believe it. To me, I went to his head. Furthermore, had been changing slowly and the thing began to be silver, if not literature itself, at least in the editorial work, or in supplements, began to grow cultural supplements and began to be more work in journalism. You know when you're in the right place at the right time? That was going to happen anyway at some point in time Metro thought I had turned around.
Frivolity What about you write that near the end of your stay in Metro?
- Menem is a novel, unfortunately. Much glam to fart. I thought I was painting a portrait of Argentina. Some people like it, I do not want. I have a bad memory, are the worst years of my life. These are the years when I believed it, that I took market, where I was married to the mine-his second wife, who was a cat ... I was austere and when the mine was hit with a delirium. Came to publish Swim Night and working in Metro and 48 hours after meeting the two together we went on a plane to Miami. She gave me handle and say, "you're a genius." The issue is that I believed her.
Were doing what your characters in that novel Frivolity.
- Yes, I lived in a way very similar to the one described here. I could not write for all working or everything I enfiestaba. Juan
finished writing that Frivolity against the clock, he had served three months of the scholarship achieved in the U.S.. Upon returning to Argentina had to finish editing the book, return to face a Planeta divorce "and looked ahead."
- So when the book was published, I thought it was a best seller, I thought they were going to shoot.
- A film Frivolity?
"Yes, I thought he was going to be translated into 50 languages, was crazy. ***
Forn look at the time, I apologized and called his wife. Is fetching him his daughter to school and short. She looks at me laughing, you know what to say, "What problem women." I laugh and I think the owner of the hostel where I stayed, since he accepted his first mate did not stop talking for lovesick repeating every so often that "these whores" are a necessary evil.
A woman cleaning
makes us pick up your feet to move the brush under the table. Juan told me how it was Metro, how an Argentine sent from Spain to be the boss and when he was dismissed from his fellow team.
"I came back and said that the refunds to them or I was going. "Well," he said. So I made my cardboard box and went - laughs at his role of hero in the situation. Think and joins periods. Finally back talk, "And there I went to page. And I went so was the planet boy. At first I did screwed up, sat awful. They felt terrible. We had the paradoxical fate of Radar began in July 96 and died February 97 Soriano. The first thing I did when I was called to Soriano and Horacio Verbitsky (who were people I had recommended) to help me. The idea was, in the first issue of Radar, make a note of Soriano, another Verbitsky and so on. Then came Argentina, Oscar Peterson and Horace call and say, "Come Oscar Peterson and I get to chat with him." I tried for the ortho and he said: "Do you you think I am for this?".
The creation and first steps of the supplement Radar made it difficult to Forn who acknowledges that Ros, Rep and strawberries were of the few people who were at his side when all the "falluto." Anyway, luck was willing to change:
- When Soriano dies, a Wednesday, we were making the supplement and I went on vacation this Saturday. Type 6 call me and say, "Try to do everything you can about Soriano, give cover." A Soriano watched a block of writing page. We are left with Strawberry Rep organizing and drawing up very late. I started to put things as I could and see what drew, what went down, go down all the photos on file, begin to raise and lower Tiffenberg suddenly and said: "Take a little air, and this the drawer out a little. We went and had so many people at the vigil that started asking many texts were doing there and go straight to the diary to write. Or they were taking testimony and we left for the day to transcribe. We spent all day Wednesday, all day Thursday and we were working until Friday at two o'clock when we close the entire supplement devoted to Soriano, drawings, texts, everything. There I came home and went to Ezeiza with my wife.
I went three weeks. When I returned, Radar was already a legend. That number was bought by the French magazine Liberation to make a charge. And he was a famous picture of Soriano going back with a cat next door. There change the mystique, it was Radar Radar and everyone was saying it was the best supplement.
But the pace of Radar, combined with the correction of reissues and the presentation of his novel was pure lies Forn to pancreatitis that forced him to leave his position as head of the supplement. The medical advice was clear: Abandon your life style before. The author moved to Villa Gesell from where he continued writing for Pagina/12 but much quieter and published María Domecq, a novel that continues to introduce its line of personal items in their literature.
How do you take your family biographical inclusions in the texts?
-Some things never forgives me. I spoke of my grandfather, who told how culeaba (sic) mines. Something that everyone knew, the marriage of my grandparents was a full face shield, he did not want and if the twine. It was evident, I told my. What happened was that he did not speak with anyone, he was a turd (sic). But I loved.
But both Hearts and Maria Domecq have an effect of sympathy between the reader and Galo or Carlos.
"I think so, that's true. The story of the pool is true - Carlos Forn, whom the author hides under the Gallo name on his first novel, he taught his grandchildren to swim by tying a rope around his chest and throwing them to the pool while he held the rope to keep from sinking. The other day I found some cousins \u200b\u200bof mine who are Cholula in the background and when they meet me they say, "Che commanded the book that, yes, that is my old man is angry." But listen to me one thing? If you tell there's Carlos J. Forn's all true? And what of the admiral, they deceived us, we were told we had a hero in the family. A hero who ordered to kill Jews Forn's great-grandfather, named Domecq Garcia had a strong involvement in the tragic week for the Patriot League.
Did not you have a good relationship with your old? Many encounters with Karol "Forn?
"Well, luckily he died young. Still, the last year we made up a lot. But I should not have been the best child. In
Gesell are walking the streets, literally. The arteries going from one place to another in the city were considered between avenues and "walks" and are mostly sand. Juan Forn parked his Volkswagen Gol at the fuzzy boundary between sidewalk and street that are often places of beach that border grass and sand do not really know how to respect.
The library closes at six pm and we fired and the jackets on. We apologize and withdraw. Matilda his daughter, leave at six thirty the school. I begin to say goodbye but it stops me: "There's still half an hour, go to a coffee and make time."
