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School of Modern Languages & Cultures: Department of Hispanic Studies

Staff in the Department of Hispanic Studies

Go to the MLAC staff pages.

Dr Nicholas Roberts, MA, MPhil Camb, PhD Lond

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 33 43010
Fax: +44 (0) 191 33 43421
Room number: A51, Elvet Riverside I

Contact Dr Nicholas Roberts (email at n.d.t.roberts@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

My research interests lie in modern Latin American fiction and poetry, in particular the poetry and essays of the Venezuelan author Eugenio Montejo and the fiction of Julio Cortázar. I am also interested in heteronymic writing both in the Americas and Europe.

I have recently published a book on the work of the Venezuelan poet and essayist Eugenio Montejo. My study highlights Montejo's search for an authentic poetic locus which is subject neither to the effects of time nor to the alienation from nature of the late twentieth century. In particular, I examine how Montejo's work serves to construct a poetic symbology which might ground such a locus.

I am also working on the engagement with music in the work of Julio Cortázar. I aim to detail the often shifting terms in which Cortázar addresses different musical genres in his fiction and wider writings. My studies apply a critical lens to the claims Cortázar makes for jazz as an answer to the problems which beset linguistic expression.

Beyond these current projects I am also in the early stages of a study of the phenomenon of heteronymic writing. Paying particular attention to the cases of Eugenio Montejo, Antonio Machado, and Fernando Pessoa, I aim to analyse the theoretical, historical, and cultural underpinnings and ramifications of this literary genre.

Finally, I am looking to oversee a study of the relationship between poetry and politics in Venezuela from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day, in collaboration with academics from Venezuela, the USA, and beyond.

I am Director of the Interdisciplinary MA in Culture and Difference.

I am happy to supervise PhDs on a wide range of Latin American literature, both poetry and fiction.

Research Groups

  • Culture and Difference
  • Literature/History/Theory

Research Interests

  • Modern Latin American fiction and poetry
  • Eugenio Montejo
  • The literary engagement with music in Latin America
  • Julio Cortázar
  • Heteronymic writing in Latin America and beyond

Indicators of Esteem

  • 2009: Invited Speaker: Invited to give a talk as part of a Conference-Workshop 'La palabra poética de Eugenio Montejo', 14 April 2009 at La Universidad de los Andes, Trujillo, Venezuela
  • 2007: Invited Book Reviews: Bulletin of Spanish Studies:
  • 2006: Member of the Association of Hispanists of Great Britain and Ireland:

Selected Publications

Articles: review

  • 2012 'City/Art: The Urban Scene in Latin America', Modern Language Review 107, pp. 957-959
  • 2011 'Political Violence and the Construction of National Identity in Latin America, ed. by Will Fowler and Peter Lambert', Modern Language Review 106, pp. 892-894
  • 2011 'Soledad Pérez-Abadín Barro, Cortázar y Che Guevara: lectura de ‘Reunión'', Bulletin of Spanish Studies 88, pp. 621-622
  • 2010 'Rodney Williamson, The Writing in the Stars: A Jungian Reading of the Poetry of Octavio Paz', Bulletin of Spanish Studies 87, pp. 575-576
  • 2009 'Pablo Neruda, Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada ed. Dominic Moran', Bulletin of Spanish Studies 86, pp. 288-289

Books: authored

Books: sections

Essays in edited volumes

  • 2011 'Nieve natal: The poetic language of Eugenio Montejo', in Rodríguez, Aníbal. (ed.), Orfeo revisitado: viaje a la poesía de Eugenio Montejo, Dirección General de Cultura y Extensión de la Universidad de Los Andes / Laboratorio Arte y Poética del Núcleo Universitario “Rafael Rangel”, pp. 20

Journal papers: academic

Other publications: research

Show all publications

Media Contacts

Available for media contact about:

  • Foreign Literature & Language: Latin American Literature
  • International politics: Latin American Politics
  • Foreign Literature & Language: Culture of Venezuela