Carmen Posadas: “Nowadays what an ‘influencer’ says has more status than a Nobel Prize winner”

2023-11-03 14:06:54

Carmen Posadas (Montevideo, 1953) is a famous writer who has published thirteen novels, fifteen children’s books, film and television scripts and who won the Planeta Prize in 1998. She has recently participated in the Tanit Ibiza Congress and Awards at the Cultural Center de Jesús where she offered a pleasant and interesting conference on the role of women in hospitality and espionage throughout history. In addition, she was awarded the Tanit Ibiza Spirit award.

The author of literary successes such as ‘The Red Ribbon’, ‘Invitation to a Murder’, ‘The Invisible Witness’ or ‘The Puppet Master’, among others, talks about her latest novel, ‘Licence to Spy’, the moment that lives literature in Spain, feminism, cultural investment, the role of the internet in literature, the challenge of artificial intelligence, fake news, the political situation and the premiere on Netflix of the film about her novel ‘Invitation to a murder’.How did you experience the Tanit Ibiza Congress and Awards?

I really liked the experience, which values ​​the work of women in the field of hospitality and catering, which, along with writing, are guilds in which they have had a prominent presence. In the Bible there were already women innkeepers, tavernkeepers and others, the same thing happens in ‘Don Quixote’. Throughout history they have had that presence and there is a parallel between both professions. It’s a great idea by Alicia Reina and Eva Ballarin.

Can you define your last novel ‘License to spy’?

I wanted to take a tour of the world of espionage, which is the history of humanity, of men and women, but it would have been too long, so I focused on the figure of women to highlight their role. In Berlin there is a spy museum and on its front there is an inscription that says: “This is the oldest profession in the world”, even older than those we usually have as a reference. Man has always needed information because it is power. From the cave until now he has needed to know what his enemies and his friends, who are sometimes more dangerous, do. Some of the spies who operated in World War II were so discreet that their work has not been known, even though they served their country more effectively than ten thousand men.

In her novel she talks about the women who have influenced the events of the world and who have played a leading role in the intrigues of power. Do these women exist today?

Of course. They change with the times, but there have always been and there will always be, and now that we are experiencing two wars, the world of espionage is more present than ever, unfortunately. Since ancient times and in almost all cultures, women have had a predominant role. The women I talk about in my book are known for other reasons: from the biblical Rahab who collaborated to conquer the Promised Land to Mata Hari in the First World War. A great queen like Catherine de’ Medici was a great spy with her flying squad, as was Mary Stuart, who was less fortunate. She was dumber and they cut off her head precisely because of a failure of intelligence and information. Also Hilda Krüger, Malinche, Josephine Baker and many others. All of them were known for other reasons, however, they were accomplished spies, like the poisoners of India or the Galician minstrel Balteira. There are countless examples. I managed to talk to an active spy and, even though they don’t speak, I managed to get him to tell me what her operations are like, what is the price a woman has to pay and what commitments and dangers she entails.

Is considered writernovelist or narrator?

I would define myself as a writer since in addition to thirteen novels and fifteen children’s stories I have also done essays, film scripts and plays. Less poetry and science fiction, which I don’t like at all, I have written everything.

Is today’s feminism a new women’s revolution or has it always existed?

Feminism is something recent, it has existed for about a hundred years. I don’t really like the furious feminism that exists now, which considers that all men are rapists and that the role of women must be vindicated through things as stupid as changing the name of the months, something that does not help women. women, quite the opposite, because the argument is so stupid that it works against them. However, this nonsense allows administrations to spend public money and make propaganda instead of worrying about the things that really make a difference for women, such as the glass ceiling, conciliation or equal pay. These issues are the important ones, the rest is nonsense. We women have to cure ourselves of an illness that is our fault and that conditions our lives.

It is his habit to write every day. Is she persevering and methodical?

I am the laziest person on planet Earth. If it were up to me, I would be lying under a tree with a wine all day, but since I hate this horrible defect, I overact and have to do things that people who are not as lazy as me don’t do. I always say that I owe much more to my defects than to my virtues, if I didn’t have them I wouldn’t have done half of what I have done.

What is your working method?

I sit down every morning at a quarter past eight in front of the computer, with my back to the window so as not to be distracted by anything, I put a gun to my temple and forbid myself to get up until lunchtime. I am the worst slaver of myself. In the afternoon my routine is to read and accompany my grandchildren to a visit or to the movies.

How do you face a blank screen or page?

Writing starts with writing, that’s the trick. It may seem like a truism, but it has its reason. Many people get stuck because they think what they are writing is rubbish or not worth writing, and they don’t even start. That’s why it’s important, even if you don’t like what you’re writing, to keep going. The plot idea is already in your head and you have to connect with it until there comes a moment when a magical click occurs. Then everything comes to life and you start creating.

You point out that to write you don’t have to be a scholar of literature but rather read a lot. How do you argue it?

You don’t have to be too intelligent or extraordinarily cultured to write, there are many books that succeed and are terrifying. It often happens that very erudite writers try to demonstrate how much they know and knock you down with data, battles and nonsense that doesn’t interest you at all, but that writer wants to demonstrate how smart and cultured he is. You have to have other qualities, such as being a very curious person, asking yourself questions all the time, being a great reader and being very perseverant since writing is not equivalent to doing the hundred meter dash but to the marathon.

Is the cultural inversion you often mention a social media milestone?

Before, the culture of knowledge went from the top down, Bertrand Russell or Jean-Paul Sartre would say something and, sooner or later, it would permeate to people less cultured than them. But now it’s the other way around. With social networks, everything is valued by the number of likes and it turns out that, unfortunately, what an influencer says has more status than what a Nobel Prize winner says. It seems crazy but it is reality.

The role of the internet in literature Has it been as expected?

On the one hand, it has solved a lot of our lives when it comes to documenting ourselves, before it was a terrible job. Nowadays I can go into the United States Library of Congress and read everything, it’s just a click away and it’s endless. You have to be careful not to echo a hoax, fake news or erroneous news. In this sense, it greatly simplifies the work for writers and also for new writers because before it was very difficult to get out of the loop of “they don’t publish me because they don’t know me.”

Now there are novelists who have published a novel on the Internet with enormous success, then publishers have sought them out and they have many readers. The book resists strongly despite the intention to annihilate paper. How can this phenomenon be explained?

The book is a perfect item that has not been surpassed. It is proven that children who study on a tablet do not assimilate the same as those who study on paper. There was a boom at the beginning with the electronic book, we thought that the book would become extinct, since a tablet weighs 40 grams and takes up little space while a book is heavy, you have to transport it and sometimes you don’t have space to store it. The tablet had a peak of popularity, but now more books are sold. The best sellers on the internet are detective and romantic novels.

Is literature in Spain going through a good moment?

It is an interesting moment more for quantity than quality. More books are sold and there are more authors than ever. Today’s editors are less demanding than in other times.

The artificial intelligence Will literature change, the way of writing and reading?

We are facing a revolution and all revolutions are bloody. We creators are worried about its application, Hollywood scriptwriters are on strike because with its use they can be dispensed with and the same thing happens with cartoonists, music and other arts. They told me that they are going to have a music festival, like Eurovision, with music made with chatGPT. I don’t know if it can be extrapolated to books, the challenge is to set a limit because it will take away many professions.

Is fake news part of the digital counterculture?

Yes, they are here to stay. The great paradox of modern life is that there have never been so many cultured and educated people in the history of humanity, in all countries. And although there is more culture than in other times, the overdose of information causes great misinformation to be generated. It’s funny that people are willing to believe the most unlikely things. The number of flat earthers, people who think that the earth is flat, grows year after year!

Are literary awards essential, today, to have fame and prestige?

The Internet is a tool or a weapon that can be used for good or evil, prizes are important because they give you visibility in the face of so much offer. They make you stand out and facilitate fame.

Are you already working on a new literary project?

I was born on Friday the 13th, I’m not superstitious, but I only have one: not to talk about a book that doesn’t exist yet. But it will go on sale around this time next year.

Is the political moment that Spain is experiencing sustainable?

The Spanish people are the strongest in the world: they have been trying to self-destruct for years and have not succeeded. No one will be able to destroy this great country since it has a lot of history behind it, but we are certainly seeing real horrors.

Do you have anything left to dream about?

I am interested in cinema. They just released a movie on Netflix based on my book ‘Invitation to Murder’ and I have four other books that will be made into movies. This is fun and adds another facet. I don’t intervene. They consult me, but since they are not going to listen to me and do what they want, I save myself the tantrum.