Flamenco Literature (Full Version)

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archie640 -> Flamenco Literature (Jan. 3 2015 22:38:28)

was wondering if anybody knows of any good books about or involving flamenco, have read duende and ghosts of spain which in my view gives a good insight into spanish culture from an outsiders point of view, been struggling to find any other books on the subject any suggestions?

Archie



Dudnote -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 3 2015 23:14:12)

Good question and one I considerred posting too. One of the few I know of was writen by Mario Bois and was centerred around a collection of traditional letras. I think the version I saw was in French, not sure if there's an english or spanish version.



Johnc -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 4 2015 11:33:48)

Hi

Robin Totton's songs of the outcasts is good
And of course any of donn pohren's books

These are all out of print now, but you can sometimes pick them up on eBay, or even your local library, if you still have one!

Cheers
John

Edit: it appears that the donn pohren books are now available on Amazon, via createspace, I guess they print them up as they get ordered?



Morante -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 4 2015 12:31:58)

There are lots of books if you look: e.g.

Chano Lobato: Memorias de cante, Andrés Rodríguez: Camaron: Se ropió el quejío, Estela Zatania: Flamencos de gañanía, Jos éBlas Vega: Vida y cante de Don Antonio Chacón, Juan Antonio Muñoz: Mis recuerdos de Antonio Mairena, Salvador Aleu Zuazo: El Chato de la Isla, José María Castaño: Manuel Soto “Sordera de Jerez”, Ángel Sody de Rivas: Diego del Gastor , Paco Urrutá: Gerundino Fernandez, Manuel Bohórquez Casado: Tomás Pavón, Féliz Rodríguez: El Arte en la sangre, José Ortiz Nuevo: Mil y una historias de Pericon de Cádiz, José Blas Vegas: Conversaciones flamencas con Aurelio de Cádiz, Eugenio Cobo: Pasión y muerte de Gabriel Macandé, Joaquin García: El libro del cante flamenco, Miguel Ropero: El léxico caló en el lenguaje del cante flamenco.

Not to mention numerous academic tomes etc,



runner -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 4 2015 14:02:56)

Any of Donn Pohren's books, wherever you can find them. See especially The Art of Flamenco, and Lives and Legends of Flamenco.

Any of Paco Sevilla's books, wherever you can find them. See especially Carmen Amaya: Queen of the Gypsies, and Seeking Silverio.

Also the book Flamenco: Gypsy Dance and Music from Andalusia, Amadeus Press, Portland Oregon. Essays edited by Claus Schreiner.



BarkellWH -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 4 2015 16:18:53)

If you are interested in the biography of the luthier Gerundino Fernandez, I suggest, "Gerundino Fernandez: Biografia de un Guitarrero," by Paco Urrutia. It was published in 2007 (a year after Gerundino's death in 2006) by the Universidad de Almeria, and is still available.

Bill



Paul Magnussen -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 4 2015 17:16:47)

Don’t forget The Flamencos of Cadiz Bay — possibly the best of the lot, in my estimation.

Also, Andrés Batista’s books, including the now hard-to-find Manual Flamenco, and (if you speak Spanish and you can afford it) El Flamenco y su Vibrante Mundo.

http://www.amazon.com/El-Flamenco-y-Vibrante-Mundo/dp/8486115531/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t



archie640 -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 4 2015 19:19:11)

Thanks everybody, you have all been very helpfull will now go and skint myself buying some of these books on amazon! [:D]

ps morante you have excelled your self there is a lifetimes worth of books to get my teeth stuck into!



Richard Jernigan -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 4 2015 19:41:13)

"The Flamencos of Cadiz Bay" is advertised on the web for some fairly steep prices. I got my copy from Dan Zeff at https://www.danzeffguitars.com for $26. It's a great read, centering around the great Cadiz cantaor Aurelio Selles.

RNJ



Paul Magnussen -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 4 2015 22:52:21)

quote:

it appears that the donn pohren books are now available on Amazon, via createspace, I guess they print them up as they get ordered?


Has anyone looked at the copyright statement on these new editions?

The Bold Strummer made a hames of the 2005 edition of Art, and in 2011 I got an embittered e-mail from Luisa about it, saying she wanted to publish the next edition herself, and asking my advice.

But I heard that Luisa had died in May of this year, and no one I know seems able to confirm or deny; nor can anyone get hold of Tina.

So the new editions make me dubious, to say no more…



Paul Magnussen -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 4 2015 22:57:59)

A couple more:

• Flamenco, Body and Soul by Juan Serrano
• The Flamenco Guitar by David George



C. Vega -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 5 2015 0:07:45)

The Wind Cried by Paul Hecht



timoteo -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 5 2015 0:47:20)

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Aforoflamenco.com+books+about+flamenco



heavymellow -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 5 2015 19:29:36)

A great read about Paco
http://www.amazon.com/Paco-Lucia-Memories-Flamenco-Legend-ebook/dp/B00NB65V5E



estebanana -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 6 2015 19:41:57)

Brook Zern's essays on flamenco are very good, some of the best. Also his translations of interviews and other works. Hopefully an anthology of his essays will be published in one cover someday.

Find them here:

http://www.flamencoexperience.com/writings.html



Jim Kirby -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 7 2015 0:42:13)

quote:

ORIGINAL: heavymellow

A great read about Paco
http://www.amazon.com/Paco-Lucia-Memories-Flamenco-Legend-ebook/dp/B00NB65V5E


I'm curious about what you found in this that made it a great read. I went through it quickly enough (a page turner!), but I felt like the book was about the author, and that he was largely cashing in on having known Paco. I'd never recommend this myself. I could be wrong.



estebanana -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 7 2015 1:37:32)

Paco Sevilla's book on Paco dL is good in that covers his work pre and with Camaron and how he came to develop the sextet. And the author stays out of the way.



Johnc -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 7 2015 17:30:34)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Paul Magnussen

Has anyone looked at the copyright statement on these new editions?



I just got a copy of Lives and Legends, copyright statement simply says Copyright (c) 2014 by: D.E. Pohren

Compared to my other copies of, a way of life(1980), art of flamenco(1984) which both say copyright Donn E. Pohren with the previous dates in the statement

Print quality is not good (with some words faded and missing), and the photo's are pretty grim, printed on the same weight paper and finish as the body of text

I think I'll keep an eye out for an old original...

John



Paul Magnussen -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 7 2015 18:04:46)

Thanks. That seems very odd to me since Donn died in 2007. I’m not sure where to go from here, though…

P.S. I’ve just tried a copyright search, both on Donn’s name and on the individual titles. I got A Way of Life, and nothing else.

http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=Art+of+Flamenco&Search_Code=TALL&PID=_Q-tWSA1WGmcj8Q5Z6VdOYPaOyyM&SEQ=20150107142325&CNT=25&HIST=1



estebanana -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 8 2015 3:10:36)

quote:

I just got a copy of Lives and Legends, copyright statement simply says Copyright (c) 2014 by: D.E. Pohren

Compared to my other copies of, a way of life(1980), art of flamenco(1984) which both say copyright Donn E. Pohren with the previous dates in the statement

Print quality is not good (with some words faded and missing), and the photo's are pretty grim, printed on the same weight paper and finish as the body of text

I think I'll keep an eye out for an old original...


In the US many public libraries have Porhen's books, you might see if a library in England has them. If you have the inter-library loan system you can get the hard backs from libraries in other parts of the city.

Also checking with the Hispanic Society of America on any studies about Porhen's books could be helpful, they published them in the beginning.

http://www.hispanicsociety.org/hispanic/libraryinfo.htm#HSAcatalogue

They also have a rare book collection and manuscript collection and some items deal wit flamenco history and some literature.



keith -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 8 2015 13:04:55)

Donn Pohren books are great as they give a first hand account of flamenco but sadly the books are becoming increasingly more difficult to find. The Art of Flamenco is listed at Stringsbymail for $50. I would be very surprized if a library, other than a major one, has the book. Another good book that gives a first hand account is Dorien Ross' Returning to A (also at SBM). What makes this book stand out from other first hand accounts is that Dorien Ross is a woman. A good book with great photos is Ken Hass' Flamenco--again, getting difficult to find or if found the price is high. Ken Hass' book has a chapter tying flamenco with bull fighting--something generally not seen in a typical flamenco book.

By the way, I just looked at Amazon for The Art of Flamenco and there are two used paperback copies going for cheap--as in less than $20



barblackmore -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 8 2015 17:56:18)

quote:

but sadly
I gave my two cents. Fernando Quiñones has written some interesting books. I have one called "Twelve andalusian tales", short stories about cantaores, bullfighters, prostitutes, etc. Besides being a flamenco fan, they are very well written! They have a very humorous prologue by none other than BORGES, saying that "Altought I hate bullfighting and i´m always in favour of the bull, this is incredibly well written"
Felix Grande also has a very interesting "Memoria del Flamenco" which is almost a sociological book about gypsies, mixed with some music commentary. But definitely biased towards the first topic. Still incredibily well written. It´s a very large book, divided on two sub-editions, and you´ll read it easily, the pages will flow



estebanana -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 9 2015 1:50:22)

I have some problems with Returning to A, it's more about the author than about anything else. And the symbolism or metaphor presented bothers me, that Ansonini's suit case is "empty". The other one I did not like was written by the guy who stole cars with Gitanos in Madrid. It was more about his hardship and the parts that described how and what flamenco is were not great.

If one did not already know anything about flamenco and could fill the spaces about the art, then Returning to A and the other book, which I have thankfully forgotten, are really coming of age travel stories. Author goes on an international wilderness walk to find out who they are. It becomes incidental that they have flamenco as a foil to the growing up story.

The Wind Cried, Paul Hect is much better at putting you in the place and time and showing the characters as people and not props for they authors personal development trip. While at the same time relating to you his reflections on his life.

The difficulty with good writing about flamenco is that flamenco and Spain are so interesting that all of us who have gone for a length of time have these stories, I could write a flamenco book at least as good or better than Returning to A, as could half my friends. The unfortunate thing is that the foreigners who really get deep inside the flamenco culture are usually the ones who opt out of writing that personal story. They have another kind of emotional and personal investment that they hold too dear, in their minds, to exploit.

For me not all the books are good, but the only two I would say drop to the lower part of your reading list are the one I mentioned and the other I have forgotten.



flyhere -> [Deleted] (Jan. 9 2015 5:54:15)

Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at Feb. 21 2015 22:54:48



britguy -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 9 2015 14:27:36)

quote:

was wondering if anybody knows of any good books about or involving flamenco,
Not sure if anybody else mentioned this one? But I have an old book entitled "Flamenco - gypsy dance and music from Andalusia" Edited by Claus Schreiner. It 's in English, translated from German. Originally published in 1985, its a series of essays by a number of authors on a wide range of subjects related to Flamenco, including several chapters on the flamenco guitar. (There's also a list of US builders that includes our old friend John Shelton and Susan Farretta. . .)

Lots of very interesting stuff in there, but I'm not qualified to assert with any authority how valuable it might be?

Certainly worth reading though. . .



Paul Magnussen -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 9 2015 17:43:39)

quote:

I have some problems with Returning to A, it's more about the author than about anything else.


I couldn’t agree more: too self-absorbed.

And if she was going to use Diego as a character, she should at least have got the details about his family right.

The other one you didn’t like was Duende by Jason Webster.



heavymellow -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 9 2015 18:10:15)

Cool Jim - well, I though it was a good, fun read. Saludos!



mark indigo -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Jan. 11 2015 16:19:24)

quote:

The other one I did not like was written by the guy who stole cars with Gitanos in Madrid. It was more about his hardship and the parts that described how and what flamenco is were not great.


there was a court case relating to that book that made the papers in the UK.

although Jason Webster claimed in the story that he went to Spain to learn guitar, there is a clue in the dedication at the front of the book to "Rafa"

Flamenco guitarist Rafael tried to sue Jason Webster for stealing his life stories and publishing them in that book.
Rafael claimed in the court case that he told JW these stories during the guitar lessons he gave him over the course of two years before JW went to Spain....

The court ruled that no copyright existed on a persons life experiences told in person to another, so there was no case to answer.

EDIT: the link to the Independent newspaper website doesn't seem to work now, but this was mentioned in previous thread;
http://www.foroflamenco.com/tm.asp?m=11693&appid=&p=&mpage=1&key=&tmode=&smode=&s=#11693

EDIT: but this link still works (looks like it didn't actually go to court, but did get as far as lawyers advice...);
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/acclaimed-travel-book-is-paella-in-the-sky-claims-flamenco-tutor-6168327.html



Delta_Slider -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Feb. 7 2015 3:35:40)

quote:

Fernando Quiñones has written some interesting books. I have one called "Twelve andalusian tales"


This sounds very cool, but I can't find a mention of it anywhere. Where would I find this and is it in English?

Thanks



AljibeDeMadera -> RE: Flamenco Literature (Feb. 7 2015 3:44:10)

I don't know if anyone has read the recent book, "Contra las Cuerdas," which is a collection of interviews with famous flamenco guitarists—but I have just finished translating the first volume into English, and it will be published by Oscar Herrero Ediciones later this year. I'd be curious to know if people would be interested in reading the book and might help get the word out when the time comes. The first volume includes interviews with Paco de Lucía, Manolo Sanlúcar, Serranito, Juan Habichuela, Tomatito, Gerardo Nuñez, Enrique de Melchor, Pepe Habichuela, etc.

Here is the link to the Spanish version: http://www.oscarherreroediciones.es/ediciones/libros/contra-las-cuerdas-1/



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