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Meridional. Chilean Journal of Latin American Studies is pleased to invite you to participate in the dossier “Relevance of Latin American Marxism: Thinking from, with, and beyond Michael Löwy’s work”, which consists in our 21st volume, to be published in October 2023. 

Armed struggle and neo-avant-garde in Estrella distante and Nocturno de Chile by Roberto Bolaño

Authors

  • Eduardo Vergara Torres Universidad de Chile
No. 6 (2016): Abril
https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-4862.2016.40100

Abstract

This article discusses the ways in which Roberto Bolaño’s novels Estrella distante (1996) and Nocturno de Chile (2000) draw a connection between two key problematics in the formation of his personal poetics, as well as in the configuration of contemporary Latin American culture, namely: the nexus between neo-avant-garde aesthetics and the legacy of revolutionary armed struggle across the continent. It sheds light on the fact that Bolaño, who delves caustically into the relationship between writing and violence, meticulously breaks down that connection, which has historically characterized the artistic and political praxis of a certain part of the left. It then discusses specific contemporary, albeit insufficient, readings of his work, in the hopes of accounting for its unique inscription in the regional, and particularly Chilean, cultural field. The article concludes that, given its aesthetic-political options and actions, the work of Bolaño cannot be reduced to certain paradigms put forth in contemporary criticism in order to characterize post-dictatorship writings in Latin America.

Keywords:

Roberto Bolaño, armed struggle, neo-avant-garde, violence, postdictatorship

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How to Cite
Vergara Torres, E. (2016). Armed struggle and neo-avant-garde in Estrella distante and Nocturno de Chile by Roberto Bolaño. Meridional. Revista Chilena De Estudios Latinoamericanos, (6), pp. 89–111. https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-4862.2016.40100
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Meridional. Revista Chilena de Estudios Latinoamericanos
Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades
Universidad de Chile
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