Late Book Culture in Argentina

Modern literary culture depended on the medium of the print book. Today, with the advent of digital technologies, it is far from apparent that print is, or should be, the vehicle of choice for contemporary writers. Hence the rise of experimentation with format and new platforms for writing. Among Latin American countries, none has been as crucial player in the world of print as Argentina. Argentine presses were the channel for the great modern literary experiments in Latin America. As such, it comes as no surprise that today, when those same presses have been gobbled up by transnational media conglomerates and digital technologies abound, Argentine writers would be attentive to the shifting media of literature. Late Book Culture in Argentina chronicles that shift. Epplin offers readings of some of the most innovative Argentine writers and collective projects of recent years: Osvaldo Lamborghini, César Aira, the cardboard publishing house Eloísa Cartonera, the poetry project Estación Pringles, and Sergio Chejfec. This corpus provides a lens through which to understand the numerous experiments with literary formats in Argentina today. Those experiments are many, taking on a number of forms: digital, artisanal, and collective. They make up a veritable renaissance in small press publishing, one that deserves critical attention and theoretical examination.