Sun, Stone, and Shadows: A Big Read Documentary
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: The Big Read
Length: 52:59
Mexico is a country filled with stories, some true, others pure fiction. Those united in Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories represent a sample of the best Mexican fiction published during the first half of the twentieth century, featuring some of the most important writers of Hispanic-American literature. Those included in these pages compose a literary geography: their birthplaces span nearly all of contemporary Mexico's regions, climates, and cultural zones. The historical perspective, too, is far from narrow, with authors born as early as the final decades of the nineteenth century during the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. Hearing these voices is vital to understanding those to follow.
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Piece Description
Mexico is a country filled with stories, some true, others pure fiction. Those united in Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories represent a sample of the best Mexican fiction published during the first half of the twentieth century, featuring some of the most important writers of Hispanic-American literature. Those included in these pages compose a literary geography: their birthplaces span nearly all of contemporary Mexico's regions, climates, and cultural zones. The historical perspective, too, is far from narrow, with authors born as early as the final decades of the nineteenth century during the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz. Hearing these voices is vital to understanding those to follow.
Transcript
SUN, STONE AND SHADOWS
[PART ONE]
My Life With The Wave
by Octavio Paz
Jo Reed Now, the Big Read.
Welcome to the Big Read, a program created by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The largest reading program in U.S. history, the Big Read is designed to unite communities through great literature. Here’s your host, poet and former Chairman of the NEA, Dana Gioia.
Dana Gioia In this program, we’ll explore the Mexican short story focusing on one of the most renowned 20th-century poets and writers – Octavio Paz, the only Mexican recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
In collaboration with the NEA, the Fondo de Cultura Económica published Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories to celebrate masterpieces of short fiction from Mexico.
Part One of our presentation features the short story “My Life...
Read the full transcript
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| String Quartet No. 2 (Magueyes): Allegro giocoso | Cuarteto Latinoamericano performs Silvestre Revueltas | The String Quartets. | New Albion Records | 1994 | 00:00 |
| String Quartet No. 3: Misterio y fantástico | Cuarteto Latinoamericano performs Silvestre Revueltas | The String Quartets. | New Albion Records | 1994 | 00:00 |
| String Quartet No. 4: "Música de fería | Cuarteto Latinoamericano performs Silvestre Revueltas | The String Quartets. | New Albion Records | 1994 | 00:00 |
| Babel | Rodrigo Sigal and Duane Cochran | Manifiesto . | Rodrigo Sigal and CIEM (CIEM001). | 1998 | 00:00 |
| Fe | Rodrigo Sigal and Duane Cochran | Manifiesto. | Rodrigo Sigal and CIEM (CIEM001). | 1998 | 00:00 |
| El firmamento | Rodrigo Sigal and Duane Cochran | Manifiesto . | Rodrigo Sigal and CIEM (CIEM001). | 1998 | 00:00 |
| Original guitar | Jorge F. Hernandez | 00:00 |
Additional Credits
Written and produced by Cecilia Vaisman for the National Endowment for the Arts, 2008. Executive Producer: Adam Kampe.
"My Life with the Wave" was used courtesy of Marie José Paz. The story was translated from Spanish by Eliot Weinberger and this translation was used by permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.
Tony Plana's reading of "My Life with the Wave" was originally included in the series Short Stories from Modern Mexico. The recording was used with permission of KCRW-Santa Monica (89.9 FM) and actor Tony Plana.
"Chac-Mool," copyright 1954, by Carlos Fuentes. Used by permission of Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc. Any copying or distribution of the material is expressly forbidden. All rights reserved.
Margaret Sayers Peden translated "Chac-Mool" from Spanish and it was first published in the book Burnt Water by Carlos Fuentes, under the imprint Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1980. This translation was used by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Author biographies by Jorge F. Hernández.
Both stories can be found in the anthology: Sun, Stone and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories, published by Fondo de Cultura Económica especially for The Big Read.
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