CAMILO JOSÉ CELA

 

My English-speaking readers may ignore that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Camilo José Cela (1916-2002), who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1989. He was a very prolific writer better known for his La Colmena, La Familia de Pascual Duarte and Viaje a la Alcarria. May I urge you to read his writings, if possible in Spanish, to discover an independent author, a tireless crafter of language, who is forever kindling new ideas upon readers. His mastery of the language is superb and he will surprise you. I was fortunate to have met him in his home, several times, and he was of much help in my putting together my Diccionario sohez del argot (published both by Larousse and McGraw-Hill).