To accompany our series of Mexican articles, I had the chance to speak with Peggy Stevens Falkenstein, author of Tying Loose Ends in Mexico, a travel and photo essay book on her experiences in the culturally rich and literary town of San Miguel de Allende.

Literary Traveler: How did you come up with the concept for Tying Loose Ends?  What originally attracted you to San Miguel de Allende and Mexico in general?

Peggy Stevens Falkenstein: I had an opportunity to study Spanish in Mexico.  I chose to enroll at the Instituto de Allende because of its reputation as a cultural center and for its intimate outdoor setting integrated with both contemporary and folk art.  My journey became more than a mere study of the language.  As I reveal in the book, my travels led me to a cultural encounter which made a connection for me in my life: thus the title Tying Loose Ends in Mexico.

LT: What do you hope for literary travelers to gain from reading your book?  What elements of the “literary” did you find in San Miguel de Allende?

PSF: SMA has been a community where discussions of literature and new ideas have changed history.  In the early 1800’s Don Ignacio de Allende, a Mexican revolutionary (and the town’s most famous resident), was president of the Literary Club in nearby Queretaro where intellectuals gathered to discuss contemporary books.  Through my essays and images, I hope readers will discover SMA is still an environment that facilitates thought provoking literary discussion.

LT: What part of San Miguel de Allende would you recommend for a literary traveler?

PSF: El Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramirez, a.k.a. Bellas Artes.  It’s a lovely art school and cultural center named after a famous SMA native, Ignacio Ramirez.  Ramirez is considered the Voltaire of Mexico.  Belles Artes also is home to the most famous work of art in SMA: an unfinished abstract geometric mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros.  Siqueiros and Diego Rivera are hailed as the most famous muralists in Mexico.

In addition the Biblioteca Publica houses one of the finest bilingual libraries in Latin America along with a small theater for lectures as well as a variety of year-round performances and events.

LT: You have beautiful images that encapsulate the city, especially after reading our article on Neal Cassady in San Miguel de Allende.  When traveling, how do you recommend selecting subjects and taking photos for our readers?

PSF: My favorite John Mayer lyric is “Didn’t have a camera by my side this time/Hoping I would see the world with both my eyes.”  When I carry my camera I make sure the experience is the most important thing.

For instance, the subject might become a family who has befriended me or a café where I’ve had a lively discussion.  At that point I always take at least two shots of something because natural light can change in a split second and what you might think will be a duplicate shot never is.

Many thanks to Peggy Stevens Falkenstein.  And remember to explore your literary imagination with Tying Loose Ends in Mexico . . .

Jennifer, Network Editorial Director

We wish our Literary Travelers a safe and happy holiday season! Thank you for all your support this year. We can’t wait to continue to inspire our readers in 2010!

Jennifer, Network Editorial Director

How far the Jewish community has come in world culture.  Once a persecuted group of individuals, hiding small holiday observances from the SS guards at various concentration camps, to now, where Hanukkah is a full-scale commercial holiday tailored for the Jewish demographic.  One of the most popular movies this season, A Serious Man by the Coen brothers, centers around the hilarious challenges of a Jewish man and his family living in 1967 in a suburban town in the Midwest.

In honor of the Jewish tradition and Hanukkah, here at LT, we’ve published an enlightening piece entitled: Philip Roth, Goodbye Columbus, Hello Newark by David Silon.  It captures the spirit of the Newark Jewish community.  What was it really like to live in the city back “in the old days”?  How does Philip Roth invoke Judaism into his novels?

It was Philip Roth who changed the entire scope of my novel, showing me what a great novel should be.  I began to read him, since he graduated from my alma mater (long before I did), and of course, since he won the Pulitzer for American Pastoral.  This was the book that opened my eyes on how to write about the depths of the human soul, imbue tragedy into every word and sentence and stun readers by showing us, yes, the Swede really is more than his persona.  He feels.

The Swede, the Jewish male protagonist, represented that guy (or girl) who everyone worships, adores, idolizes but can never touch or talk to.  It’s a typical high school story where years later, you see that guy on the street and he still carries that power over you.  And the fascinating part is he’s Jewish, yet minus the usual stereotyping.  The Swede is tall, blond, rugged, the best athlete the city has ever seen and not religious at all.  Yet this is where Roth gets into trouble – many have accused him of insulting the more devout Jewish characters in his book.

Whether you think Roth shuns his own religion or not, it is a remarkable feat that Jews have come this far to be the protagonist of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, a slice of the Americana pie.  Thus, in celebration of the festival of lights, Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish literary travelers.  La Heim!

Remember to explore your literary imagination with Philip Roth and Jewish Newark this holiday season . . .

Jennifer, Network Editorial Director

Photo by David Stone

When I heard that the second book of the Twilight Saga, New Moon, was being made into a movie to open on November 20, 2009, I thought to myself, “should I include an article?”

From an editor’s standpoint, it was a tough decision for me.  Technically, it’s not the “high literature” that most of our LT audience reads.  Look at our most recent articles: Nabokov, Proust, Terry Southern.  So I figured we would be castigated for including a young adult fantasy novel such as Twilight.

However, I then realized this was too big of an event not include in LT.  Stephanie Meyer, the powerhouse writer behind the Twilight Saga, has her place in the contemporary literature world too, especially with regard to young readers.

Evaluating contemporary literature can be very difficult, since it’s not as clear cut as classic literature.  We know Mark Twain, Alex Haley and Willa Cather are all literary writers.  Now, there’s the new wave of literary writers such as Philip Roth (though he’s been around for quite a while), Haruki Murakami and Marilynne Robinson.

The Twilight Saga does not fit neatly into the above contemporary writer canon.  So I decided to find a writer who lives in Forks, Washington (where Twilight takes place) and commission her/him to write a place-themed article.  But I couldn’t find a writer.  I was back to square one.

A writer who I knew, Mia Murphy, came up with the idea of focusing on the appeal of the book series, and I thought, there’s our article!  Why do young girls and women love this series?  Even the most highly literary LT readers may have wondered in the past why the book series is so popular.  This article addresses these questions.

Take a few minutes and read our newest article, Twilight Saga: A Modern Fairytale.  Check out the exquisite images courtesy of HBG USA that bring the words to life.

And remember . . . Explore your literary imagination with Twilight . . .

Jennifer

When I heard that The Original of Laura, the lost novella by Vladimir Nabokov, was to be released in the upcoming November 10, 2009 issue of Playboy magazine, I thought, of course.  No other publication would be a better choice to be granted the serial rights.

Why, you ask?  Really, Playboy magazine, as in “The Girls Next Door”?

Yes, that Playboy magazine precisely.

The publication was started by enterprising mogul Mr. Hugh Hefner in December 1953 with blond icon Marilyn Monroe on the cover.  From there, the brand ignited into a firestorm of Playmates, a private jet with the bunny logo and merchandising opportunities galore.

But many people don’t know the heart of the Playboy empire, which is the magazine’s unwavering dedication to literary greatness.  In fact, it was Playboy that hired Alex Haley, famed Roots author, to interview Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.  Hefner had a reputation for welcoming black artists – whether writers, comedians or musicians – at a time when many were shunned by the white community.

The longstanding literary tradition of the magazine also includes publishing fiction authors such as Ian Fleming (the James Bond book series), John Updike, Margaret Atwood, Sir Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey) and, of course, the late Vladimir Nabokov.

The tradition began with Nabokov’s novel Ada or Ardor.  It was excerpted in Playboy in 1969 to the writer’s delight.  Therefore, Hefner and literary editor Amy Grace Loyd jumped on the chance to keep Nabokov in the Playboy literary family once they heard the writer’s son would be selling the rights.  Loyd secured the honor of first serial rights in the form of a 5,000 word excerpt in Playboy’s December issue, on stands November 10th.  A week later, publishing giant Knopf will ship the novella in its complete form to bookstores.

The other curiosity behind The Original of Laura is the execution of the editing.  Nabokov was known for being an overly diligent editor of his works; therefore, to see how it is crafted together in 2009 is another mystery to be unraveled.

Will Nabokov approve from beyond the grave?  No one knows.  But one thing is for certain, Playboy will give us literary travelers a scandalous read for the month of November.

Explore your literary imagination with Vladimir Nabokov and Playboy with these articles, Nabokov in St. Petersburg and Nabokov in the Grand Canyon, and our interview with Amy Grace Loyd . . .

Jennifer

Hello Literary Travelers!

I’d like to welcome all of you to The Editorial Director’s Forum.  This is your forum to comment on LT content, including articles, blogs, book reviews, etc.

I will be updating this blog frequently to keep you informed about all things LT. Please feel free to comment and share your ideas about editorial content.  We’d love to hear your thoughts and welcome constructive suggestions!

Keep checking back as I add more posts.

(See my second post on Nabokov in Playboy!)

Best,

Jennifer Ciotta, Network Editorial Director