The Potency of Goodbyes

Hello Gentle Reader

Nothing is as infuriating as learning of a new writer simply because they have died. It leaves one with this sensation of a missed opportunity. A failed chance encounter. The past week saw the departure of two authors who I had previously been unaware of: Argentinian legend and short story master: Hebe Uhart; and Finnish breakaway author: Arto Paasilinna. Following my Dear Gentle Reader are two short and sweet testimonies on their lives and their work, with what little information has been provided and released. Their departures were quiet, missing the plated grandness and pantomime orchestration which would be used in the event a musician or celebrity, would have in the event of their passing. Yet perhaps, this is what allows writers to pass with relative dignity. A quiet poised piece of respect deprived of the carnality of mass grief, in favour of solitary solace.

Hebe Uhart –

It was the lovely Archipelago Books which first informed me of Hebe Uhart; and the fact of she died late last week. In their announcement of her passing, Archipelago Books announced they would be publishing a selection of her short stories in the autumn of two-thousand and nineteen, translated by Maureen Shaughnessy. From there I delved deeper into the author. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and taught in both primary and secondary schools, before long she taught at the post-secondary level of education. As a writer she was renowned for hosting literary workshops in Buenos Aires and was a frequent contributor to numerous magazines. Ricardo Piglia had called her the best Argentinian writer, a statement Hebe Uhart did not accept. She stated that to be the best meant one is alone, and she did not want to be alone. Uhart wrote novels and short stories, as well as dabbled in a bit of travel writing. Yet she is most renowned for her short stories. If one looks through the English language to find Hebe Uhart, they will find disappointment of how little has been translated. Thankfully, Asymptote had published one of her short stories: “Guiding the Ivy,” translated by Maureen Shaughnessy, in their online magazine. The story is short and terse, but carries the author’s defined grace as pulls facts and thoughts from the ordinary and begins to turn the personal or even the provincial into a greater metaphor for the universal and a commentary on the human condition. Reading the praise offered to Hebe Uhart, both in life and now in her passing, makes it regrettable and frustrating that I had never had the chance to read her prior. She seems strikingly humble perhaps even self-effacing to a fault, but the grace which is noted pushes such notions to the side, to reveal a giant not deprived of qualities but rather modest in their radiance. Beyond her love of writing and conversations concerning philosophical matters and literature (and I’m sure other eclectic topics), she was an avid gardener, renowned for her balcony forest of flowers and plants.

Arto Paasilinna –

The Finnish language is one of the most difficult languages to learn in the world. This means the writers of the Nordic nation are often isolated and alienated from readers of other languages. Eeva Tikka, Sirkka Turkka, Raija Siekkinen, Olli Jalonen, and Jouni Inkala, are sadly left alone in their language, though surely their works and words would be welcome abroad. Though one should not estimate the English languages distrust towards the foreign. Despite the Finnish languages notoriety for being unforgiving and challenging in its linguistic peculiarity, some authors have been known to find success outside of Finland. Arto Paasilinna was one such writer. Along with Leena Korhn and Tove Jansson, Arto Paasilinna was able to escape the confines of the Finnish language, complete with its often daunting reputation, and find his work translated into other languages. In Finland he was popular, an author of thirty-five works. His works were renowned for their whimsy and surreal plot lines, often taking the most unique characters and allowing them to escape on some grand adventure, riddled with whimsy, peculiarity, and eccentricity abound. His novel “The Year of the Hare,” has been acclaimed in all languages it has been translated into; and has been adapted for film twice. It’s a characteristic novel by Paasilinna, as it details the odd and at times magical world his characters inhabit. In this particular case a frustrated journalist almost kills a hare with his vehicle and through either guilt or delirium, decides to live and care for the hare in the wilderness. The novel is filled with the surreal uncertainty as all of his narratives, but is also riddled with the comedic and the satirical, as it probes the human condition with all its absurd wonders, glories, and frailties. The combination of the comedic and the surreal often made him a favourite with readers, who enjoyed his mordant and trenchant wit to discuss the comedic and tragic of life.

Rest in Peace, Hebe Uhart and Arto Paasilinna.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader

Take Care

And As Always

Stay Well Read

M. Mary