El retrato de artista en Hispanoamerica: historia de un genero a traves de las novelas de Roberto Bolano.

Abstract

SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE

EL RETRATO DE ARTISTA EN HISPANOAMÉRICA: HISTORIA DE UN GÉNERO A TRAVÉS DE LAS NOVELAS DE ROBERTO BOLAÑO

ALBERTO DEL POZO MARTÍNEZ Dissertation under the direction of Professor Andrés Zamora This project is a study of the main novels written by the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño (1953-2003). It explores Bolaño’s obsession with creating fictional artists in his works, and how this obsession should be understood as the culmination of a literary tradition in Spanish America: the tradition of the portrait of the artist. My work explores the polemic between literature and philology/literary criticism with regard to this specific genre. It traces the presence of the portrait throughout the history of Spanish American Literature, from Darío’s Los raros to Moterroso’s Lo demás es silencio. Finally, it analizes in detail the different ways in which Bolaño used the portrait of the artist in five of his novels (La literatura nazi en América, Estrella distante, Nocturno de Chile, Los detectives salvajes and 2666). My conclusion is that this genre functions for the purpose of generating a powerful critique of the role of literature today.