Roberto Bolaño wins major literary award

Chilean author Roberto Bolaño died in 2003 though he has received plenty of posthumous praise. The English-language translation of “2666” has wowed the world of literature and high expectations continue over the recent discovery of several “lost” manuscripts.

Before passing away, Bolaño wrote in one of his journals that “I am sure I will die unpublished.” Surely he would’ve never imagined that his work would receive major awards but that was the case last week:

Death is proving no barrier to the late Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño, who…added the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction to his roster of prizes.

The esteemed American award was given to Bolaño for his epic final novel 2666, which NBCC board member Marcela Valdes described as a "sexy, apocalyptic vision of history", a "work so rich and dazzling that it will surely draw readers and scholars for ages". Accepting the posthumous award on Bolaño's behalf, his translator Natasha Wimmer recalled he had once said that "posthumous" sounded like a Roman gladiator, the Associated Press reported.

Aside from Bolaño, Mexican-American writer Juan Felipe Herrera shared best poetry honors for his work praising Chicano identity.

The awards carry no cash prize yet are very prestigious and are the top literary honor in the U.S. Dominican author Junot Diaz won the National Book Critics Circle award for fiction in 2008.

Image- LAHT
Online Sources- Guardian UK, The Telegraph, Latina, Bloomberg, CBC, The Latin Americanist