Short universes: an anthology of Spanish-language flash fiction

Marked by freedom and creativity, flash fiction puts literature on a razor's edge. Much like in poetry, where depth is built by scarcity, in this short narratives each word is worth its weight in gold — and silence is often what says the most.

Edited by Francisca Noguerol, from Salamanca University, Spain, Universos breves, published by Editora Cobogó in partnership with Instituto Cervantes, is an anthology featuring 39 contemporary names of Spanish-language flash fiction. The authors come from different countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela) and from different generations, ranging from established names such as Luisa Valenzuela and Rafael Ángel Herra to younger authors, such as José Zelaya. While some stories are in direct dialogue with modern-day tensions, others bet on unusual worlds, wordplay and philosophical ponderation. All of them, however, emphasize the vigor and narrative strength of flash fiction, presenting, in its few lines, unending epiphanies. According to Francisco Noguerol, the spirit of these short universes can be summarized in a few fun, short lines — as it should:

flash fiction abcs

Acrobatic, boisterous, certain, devil-may-care, elegant, flexible, genius, hypnotic, impactful, jubilant, Kantian, lucid, musical, notable, oblique, powerful, Quixotic, rapid, sober, tender, unique, velocinos, wonderful, xylophonic, yn-yang, zealous.

About the editor
Francisca Noguerol is a professor of Spanish-American Literature at the School of Philology at Salamanca University. She has taught in various American (United States, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile) and European (France, Italy, Croatia, Hungary, and Germany) universities. Her doctoral research about Augusto Monterroso was the basis for her book La trampa en la sonrisa: sátira en la narrativa de Augusto Monterroso. In addition to participating as author and editor in sixteen more monographs, she's the author of 214 research papers published in national and international journals, where she manifests her interest by innovative aesthetic movements, from historical vanguards to contemporary poetry and narratives, cultural imagination, the relationship between image and literature, and hybrid genres.

Specifications
Title Universos breves: antologia do microconto de língua espanhola [Short universes: an anthology of Spanish language flash fiction]
Authors Esther Andradi; Jorge Ávalos; Alberto Barrera Tyszka; Pia Barros; Raúl Brasca; Guillermo Bustamante Zamudio; Homero Carvalho Oliva; Rafael Courtoisie; Lilian
Elphick; Lorena Escudero Sánchez; Patricia Esteban Erlés; Cecilia Eudave; Henry Fischer; Marco Flecha Torres; Miguel Gomes; Ibeth Guzman; Rafael Ángel Herra;
Fernando Iwasaki; Enrique Jaramillo Levi; Isabel Mellado; José María Merino; Augustín Monsreal; Diego Muñoz Valenzuela; Andrés Neuman; Julia Otxoa; Kras Quintana;
Ednoio Quintero; Solange Rodríguez Pappe; Nana Rodríguez Romero; Alberto Sánchez Mejías; Ana María Shua; Ricardo Sumalavia; Ainda Elizabeth Toledo; Luisa Valenzuela; Ana Lydia Vega; Laura Elisa Vizcaíno; José Zeleya
Editor Francisca Noguerol
Translator Silvia Massimini Felix
Language Portuguese
Page count 256
ISBN 978-65-5691-091-8
Cover Radiográfico
Format Softcover
Size 14 x 21 cm
Year 2022