About the Book
Available in English for the first time in the U.S., a collection of the speeches of Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez.
Throughout his life, Gabriel García Márquez spoke publicly with the same passion and energy that marked his writing. Now the wisdom and compassion of these performances are available in English for the first time. I'm Not Here to Give a Speech records key events throughout the author's life, from a farewell to his classmates delivered when he was only seventeen to his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. Written across a lifetime, these speeches chart the growth of a genius: each is a snapshot offering insights into the beliefs and ideas of a world- renowned storyteller. Preserving García Márquez's unmistakeable voice for future generations, I'm Not Here to Give a Speech is a must-have for anyone who ever fell in love with Macondo or cherished a battered copy of Love in the Time of Cholera.
Table of Contents:
The Academy of Duty, Zipaquirá, Colombia, November 17, 1944
How I Began to Write, Caracas, Venezuela, May 3, 1970
Another, Different Homeland, Mexico City, October 22, 1982
The Solitude of Latin America, Stockholm, Sweden, December 8, 1982, Ceremony awarding the Nobel Prize in Literature
A Toast to Poetry, Stockholm, Sweden, December 10, 1982
Words for a New Millennium, Havana, Cuba, November 29, 1985
The Cataclysm of Damocles, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico, August 6, 1986
An Indestructible Idea, Havana, Cuba, December 4, 1986
Preface to a New Millennium, Caracas, Venezuela, March 4, 1990
I’m Not Here, Havana, Cuba, December 8, 1992
In Honour of Belisario Betancur on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday, Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia, February 18, 1993
My Friend Mutis, Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia, August 25, 1993
The Argentine who Endeared Himself to Everybody, Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City, February 12, 1994
Latin America Exists, Contadora, Panama, March 28, 1995
A Different Nature in a World Different from Ours, Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia, April 12, 1996
Journalism: The Best Job in the World, Los Angeles, United States, October 7, 1996
A Bottle in the Ocean for the God of Words, Zacatecas, Mexico, April 7, 1997
Dreams for the Twenty-first Century, Paris, France, March 8, 1999
The Beloved Though Distant Homeland, Medellín, Colombia, May 18, 2003
A Soul Open to be Filled with Messages in Spanish, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, March 26, 2007
About the Author :
Gabriel García Márquez was born in Colombia in 1927. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. He is the author of many works of fiction and nonfiction, including One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. He died in 2014.
Review :
“I’m Not Here to Give a Speech is a welcome reminder of his immense contributions to literature, as well as his skill in using literary fame to highlight the distinct culture and creative strength of Latin America." --Christian Science Monitor
“Márquez speaks with the future in mind. . . . Language is his love.” —The Independent
"A set of speeches given over the course of his long literary career offers snapshots of the Colombian author's uniquely eloquent humanitarian voice and vision. . . . Essential truths in the rare and generous voice of a maestro." --Kirkus Reviews
“This neat collection sets out the revered Colombian novelist’s two key passions. . . . First is a quest to identify a Latin American spirit, and to celebrate and defend it. Second is an enduring belief in the power of the imagination. . . . [He was] as poetic and polemical in speaking as he was in writing.” —Art Review
“I’m Not Here to Give a Speech radiates a familiar humorous charm and robust sensuality. . . . The book is of a piece with the fiction, and equally haunting.” —The Irish Times
"These talks, so eloquently rendered by García Márquez’s longtime translator Grossman, capture the novelist’s passion, genius, and energetic way of telling a story with a clear moral." —Publishers Weekly
