18 - The Aura of Influence: How Carlos Fuentes Wrote Aura

Got yourself a case of originality-sickness? You know, the kind that wishes for the new, the always new, that fashionable illusion that speaks only of death when pretending to be nothing but birth?  Well, kiddo, you are not alone. But you are not loved. Fuentes sees you clinging to originality and he laughs. He sees the anxiety you have about your influences and shakes his head. Give it up, he says, embrace what has come before. Bathe in the aura of influence.  Join David, Eric, and Nick as we discuss Carlos Fuentes' creative essay "On Reading and Writing Myself" in which he breaks down the influences, allusions, and experiences that helped create his short novel Aura.  We talk authorial intent, the death of the author, the Eternal Return; we try to pronounce names correctly and struggle with words only read; we discuss creativity and expectation and change in perception.  So, then. Here is a link to the essay under discussion:  https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/sites/default/files/static/docs/archive-issues/wlt57.4-carlosfuentes.pdf And here is where you can find us:  http://www.booksofsomesubstance.com/  And here: INSTAGRAM   FACEBOOK    TWITTER    ☮