Gene H. Bell-Villada
Encyclopedia
Gene H. Bell-Villada is an American literary critic, novelist, translator and memoirist, with strong interests in Latin American Writing, Modernism
, and Magic Realism
. His works include The Carlos Chadwick Mystery: A Novel of College Life and Political Terror, the short story collection The Pianist Who Liked Ayn Rand, and the critical studies Art for Art's Sake and the Literary Life, Borges And His Fiction; A Guide To His Mind And Art and Garcia Marquez: The Man And His Work. He holds a doctorate from Harvard University
and has been a professor at Williams College
since 1975.
His literary criticism is notable for its harsh views of Vladimir Nabokov
. Art for Art's Sake and Literary Life was so negative in its assessment that Publishers Weekly
described it as a "bilious analysis" of the Russian writer. Bell-Villada explains the animus by saying that he himself is a "lapsed disciple" of Nabokov.
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, and Magic Realism
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
. His works include The Carlos Chadwick Mystery: A Novel of College Life and Political Terror, the short story collection The Pianist Who Liked Ayn Rand, and the critical studies Art for Art's Sake and the Literary Life, Borges And His Fiction; A Guide To His Mind And Art and Garcia Marquez: The Man And His Work. He holds a doctorate from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and has been a professor at Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
since 1975.
His literary criticism is notable for its harsh views of Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
. Art for Art's Sake and Literary Life was so negative in its assessment that Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
described it as a "bilious analysis" of the Russian writer. Bell-Villada explains the animus by saying that he himself is a "lapsed disciple" of Nabokov.
External links
- http://www.amadorbooks.com/authgb.htm Author Page at Amador Books
- http://www.williams.edu/CFLang/faculty.php?fm=51&ta=0 Williams College Bell-Villada page