Missing Persons, Animals, and Artists A Tale of Two Lions Te guardaré la espalda La Casa Desertada: Graham Greene En Mexico Carlos y los objetos
Honours
Premio Nacional de Cuento Infantil Juan de la Cabada (2003)
Premio Nacional José Rubén Romero
Premio Chihuahua de Literatura (2005)
Premio Bellas Artes de Ensayo Literario Malcolm Lowry (2010)
Roberto Ransom Carty (born 1960) is a Mexican
writer.[1] Regarded as one of Mexico's most original authors,[2] his published work includes novels, collections of short stories, poetry, an essay on
Graham Greene and work on Mexico,[3] as well as several award-winning children's books.[4] He is a member of the
Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte.[5]
After nearly a decade of working as a journalist and writer,[6] Ransom received a
Fulbright-Garcia Robles Scholarship and studied for a M.A. and a PhD degree in theology, ethics, and culture at the
University of Virginia in the late 1990s.[7] Afterwards, he returned to Mexico to write and teach at the
Autonomous University of Chihuahua.
Writing style
At the
School of Philosophy and Letters, and during his early career, Roberto Ransom formed close friendships with other young writers such as Ana García Bergua,[8]Tedi López Mills,
Ignacio Padilla,[9] and
Jennifer Clement.This generation of writers discovered beyond
magic realism through work that was only implicitly related to Mexico or Latin America. Instead, it placed emphasis on experimentation and structure by using polyphonic and
nonlinear narratives, as well as
unreliable narrators, and usage of
Mexican Spanish. Ransom's work is unique in that it can also be read as simultaneously relating to the foreign experience in Mexico, and to foreign realities experienced through a subtle but uniquely Mexican sensibility.
Ransom's work is also influenced by English and
American Gothic writing traditions. His writing has been described as "clear, pellucid writing for dark and tortuous stories" by American translator
Edith Grossman,[10] who went on to describe this tension as "a devastating contrast between substance and style". His writing has also been regarded as charming,[11] subtle and refined, with emotionally deep characters and insights.[12] Ransom's writing is known for focusing on building atmosphere and ideas,seldom relying on sharp twists or outsized action.[13]
Both his novel Tale of Two Lions (
Norton 2007),[14] and the collection of short stories Missing Persons, Animals, and Artists (Swan Isle Press/
University of Chicago 2018),[15] have been translated and published in English.[16]Missing Persons, Animals, and Artists has enjoyed critical acclaim for its translation by Daniel Shapiro, [17] who was awarded grants by
PEN America,[18] and the
National Endowment for the Arts for its completion.
Selected published works
Ransom Roberto. En esa otra tierra, Alianza Editorial (Mexico City), 1991.
ISBN9789683903648
Ransom Roberto. Historia de dos leones, Ediciones El Aduanero (Naucalpan, Mexico), 1994.
ISBN9789687517001
Ransom Roberto. Saludos a la Familia, Universidad Autónoma de México, (Toluca, Mexico) 1995.
ISBN9789688352816
Ransom Roberto. Chanterelle, Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura, (Toluca, Mexico) 1997.
ISBN9789684843585
Ransom Roberto. Desaparecidos, animales y artistas, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (Mexico City, Mexico), 1999.
ISBN9789701838440
Ransom Roberto. La línea del agua, Joaquín Mortiz (México City), 1999.
ISBN9789682707681
Ransom Roberto. Te guardaré la espalda, Joaquín Mortiz (México City), 2002.
ISBN9789682708756
Ransom Roberto. Museo Marino, Instituto Chihuahuense de la Cultura (Chihuahua), 2004.
ISBN9789686862898
Ransom Roberto. Los días sin Bárbara, Instituto Chihuahuense de la Cultura (Chihuahua), 2006.
ISBN9789707740273
Ransom Roberto. João y el oso Antártica, Alfaguara Infantil (Mexico City), 2006.
ISBN9789681914370
Reid Jasper (translator) A Tale of Two Lions: A Novel, Norton (New York, NY), 2007.
ISBN9780393329360
Ransom Roberto. Vidas Colapsadas, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (Mexico City), 2012.
ISBN9786074559064
Ransom Roberto. Carlos y los Objetos Perdidos, Alfaguara Infantil (Mexico City), 2012.
ISBN978-6071115935
Ransom Roberto. La casa desertada: Graham Greene en México, Aldus Matadero (Mexico City),2017.
ISBN9786079757038
Shapiro, Daniel (translator) Missing Persons Animals and Artists, Swan Isle Press (Chicago), 2018.
ISBN9780997228717