El Inesperado
Encyclopedia
“El Inesperado” is a novel by Enrique Lafourcade
, contemporary Chilean author, critic and journalist; published by LOM Ediciones, Santiago, Chile, in 2004, in Spanish. It has been translated to English by the author’s daughter Nicole Lafourcade, poet and literary translator residing in the United States, but the English manuscript remains unpublished, except for a chapter presented online by literary magazine Letralia.
In "The Unexpected One", Lafourcade reconstructs the years spent by French poet Arthur Rimbaud
in the north of Africa. The novel evokes an enterprising and risky period in the poet’s life, at the end of the 19th century, when he travelled through Harar
and Aden
, among others places in North East Africa, places that were considered savage and exotic in Europe
, seeking coffee and other products for commercialization. With a mysterious and intense air, the prose of the author recreates the atmosphere of boldness and danger, but also serenity - and in certain form, redemption-, where the poet unfolds. With the retained serenity of an asleep volcano which threatens to awake at any moment, and helped by the mystery and awe suggested by a foreigner who dominates the arts of local exchange, the ‘unexpected one’ (Rimbaud) evokes respect among merchants and smugglers, rough folks who could murder him at any moment and nevertheless accept his arduous and astute negotiation techniques.
Lafourcade, admirer of the avant-garde spirit and innovation of the young poet, tells us: "It is certain: he was a damned boy, badly educated, insolent, loud-mouthed, audacious, a total creator, but he was also good: angel and devil lived together in him."
Enrique Lafourcade
Enrique Lafourcade Valdenegro is a Chilean writer, critic and journalist who was born in Santiago, Chile, on October 14, 1927.-Brief Biography:...
, contemporary Chilean author, critic and journalist; published by LOM Ediciones, Santiago, Chile, in 2004, in Spanish. It has been translated to English by the author’s daughter Nicole Lafourcade, poet and literary translator residing in the United States, but the English manuscript remains unpublished, except for a chapter presented online by literary magazine Letralia.
In "The Unexpected One", Lafourcade reconstructs the years spent by French poet Arthur Rimbaud
Arthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
in the north of Africa. The novel evokes an enterprising and risky period in the poet’s life, at the end of the 19th century, when he travelled through Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
and Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
, among others places in North East Africa, places that were considered savage and exotic in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, seeking coffee and other products for commercialization. With a mysterious and intense air, the prose of the author recreates the atmosphere of boldness and danger, but also serenity - and in certain form, redemption-, where the poet unfolds. With the retained serenity of an asleep volcano which threatens to awake at any moment, and helped by the mystery and awe suggested by a foreigner who dominates the arts of local exchange, the ‘unexpected one’ (Rimbaud) evokes respect among merchants and smugglers, rough folks who could murder him at any moment and nevertheless accept his arduous and astute negotiation techniques.
Lafourcade, admirer of the avant-garde spirit and innovation of the young poet, tells us: "It is certain: he was a damned boy, badly educated, insolent, loud-mouthed, audacious, a total creator, but he was also good: angel and devil lived together in him."