TE19 Iberian Adventure

Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night (excerpt) Ricardo Menéndez Salmón Translated from Spanish by Joe Williams

After the Tang Dynasty artist Han Gan (706 – 783) painted the portrait of a horse belonging to the imperial stables, the animal developed a limp. It was later discovered that Han Gan had forgotten to paint one of its hooves.

As in this anecdote, we should write books capable of hexing reality.

My fatherdied in the palliative careunit of the Red Cross hospital in Gijon on the afternoon of June 12th, 2015. He had celebrated his 72nd birthday the day before. I wasn’t with him. I had left his bedside just after noon, when my mother arrived to take over from me in tending to his dying moments. When I recall the last time that I saw my father alive, the image which I have is that of a man making a repeated but enigmatic gesture, placing both of his hands on his chest as if making 111