Mexican Novelist Carmen Boullosa Visits Greenhill

On Tuesday, October 21, Greenhill Upper School students had the opportunity to meet Carmen Boullosa, the Mexican author of the novel, Texas: The Great Theft, originally written in Spanish.

The students recently read the first-ever translation into English, the inaugural text from Dallas’ own Deep Vellum Publishing.

This exciting opportunity was spearheaded by a unique partnership between English teacher Joel Garza and Deep Vellum Publishing executive director Will Evans. The two literature enthusiasts met last spring and formed the idea that became reality when Evans delivered a box of books to Greenhill, hot off the press.

Texas: The Great Theft is a novel loosely based on the little-known 1859 Mexican invasion of the United States, known as the Cortina Troubles. The story of the contested border is told distinctly through the Mexican perspective.

To prepare for the meeting of the author, students prepared a list of questions. Ms. Boullosa responded to each with demonstrative description, her answers ranging from her intimate relationship with language and land, to her love of western films, to inspiration from her childhood, to the value of gossip in the shaping of history. “Gossip does not reflect facts, yet it is how people feel about reality.” Ms. Boullosa sees her translated works as separate novels in themselves because the selection of words is so intimately native to the author and the feeling conveyed. Samantha Schnee, the translator of Texas, is one of her good friends with a relationship built on trust and united goals.

To learn more about Carmen Boullosa, click here.
To learn more about Deep Vellum Publishing, click here.
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