LatinosUSA

The incredible Juan Re Crivello

Today I am thrilled to feature an interview with the creator of the Masticadores network, Juan Re Crivello. You can view the main Masticadores website here: https://masticadores.com/.

For English speaking writers and poets, you can submit your work to the following platforms:

Barbara Leonhard Harris, editor of MasticadoresUSA

Nolcha Fox, editor of Chewers

Michelle Ayon Navajas, editor of Hotel by Masticadores

Various editors of LatinosUSA

Ray Whitaker, editor of MasticadoresCanada

Tell us a bit about Juan re Crivello and your writing path

 I consider myself what some call a «late-blooming writer.» I started writing at 50. I worked with a writing coach and discovered that when developing my characters, I was afraid of becoming trapped by their style and not being able to return to the real world. But they say that writers cultivate memory and observation long before explaining or narrating, and I’m very inspired by my two Italian grandmothers from Turin, with whom I lived for several years. I follow a routine. Every day, Monday through Friday, I write and publish series that appear on my blog each day of the week. And now, to complicate things a bit more, every Thursday I choose one article of the week, and it appears in five languages ​​(Spanish, Catalan, English, Portuguese, and Italian) in five magazines in each of those countries. For example, in Catalan, it appears in the local digital newspaper, which has a large readership.

You are one of the creators of the Masticadores on-line literary magazine as well as LatinosUSA. What was your vision when you created these on-line literary magazines? Can you share a little about your learning path for these on-line platforms?

When I founded Masticadores in 2019, I never imagined it would have such an impact, and the same thing happened with LatinosUSA. At that time, I was running an online writing workshop almost as a hobby. And I realized that writers had great difficulty getting published. That’s why I founded a publishing house and Masticadores. As time passed, I became convinced that the future wasn’t in print, so I closed the publishing house and dedicated myself to creating the multilingual, multi-country platform that Masticadores is today. But they say you can’t do anything alone, you need good company. And I diligently sought out those people to join me. I could name many of them; they’re still here. And I’ve always made sure that Masticadores is half women, half men. And I’ve convinced many to become editors based on their interests and needs. Such a diverse group only works if there’s freedom and talent. And… there are still more projects to come, for example, MasticadoresEsencial, which I’m showing you as a sneak peek: a smart website that scans all 1300 articles from all the Masticadores (in four languages) every day, selects 12, and republishes them. Here’s the link: https://mastica-esencial.netlify.app/

Robbie: This sounds amazing! I look forward to seeing it in action.

Can you share your thoughts about the use of AI in the literary world? Do you think there is a place for it as a writing and editing tool?

I’m a proponent of AI. I have hundreds of articles published over many years. Five years ago, I published one—I still remember it—about a man who got into his car and asked his latest model of tires to take him to his mother’s house, and the dialogue was about the difficulties he had with his mother. But I respect those who oppose it. At Masticadores, there are authors who use AI to generate images, and others who write with it. In my case, I write my article alone and then have AI analyze it. Or I ask it to expand on its data. I like this collaborative writing that adds value for the reader. And I pay close attention to my children’s generation (30 years old) and their styles, in the way they work and live. I learn from them…

Tell us about your new book, Writing on the margins of the world. It is an interesting title. Why do you think your work is on the margins of the literary world? Do you think that could change in the future?

I love being on the fringes of the world. It gives me freedom. It allows me to connect with people of all ages, and that pushes me as a writer. For example, I attend a Catalan class with 15 foreigners recently arrived in Spain (Russians, Colombians, Ukrainians, Argentinians, Italians, etc.), all around 30 years old; or I do pottery once a week with a group of 40-year-olds; or I take an Italian class with 5 women in their 60s; or I have coffee with people my age (70) on La Rambla. They all love their lives and share their dreams. With all of them, I build my identity as a writer. The future? If I have my health (I’m 70)… I’ll wage a great spiritual battle.

Thank you, Robbie, for your interview. You are an example of what the Masticadores world is all about.

Robbie: Thank you, Juan. I appreciate you and all the Masticadores and LatinosUSA editors and contributors.

My review of Juan Re Crivello. Writing on the margins of the world by Rafael Julivert Ramírez

This book is in the style of an autobiography focusing on Juan Re Crivello’s body of writing, which is significant. It is fascinating to read how, in his early forties and having been displaced from his home country of Argentina, the author, set out to carve his own path in the literary world. Re Crivello made excellent and strategised use of the emerging digital world to build a vibrant and strong platform in the blogging and on-line literary magazine worlds. He also embraced independent publishing to give a home to his works that did not fit into the narrow confines of modern traditional publishing.

This book depicts Re Crivello ability to rise above the challenges life has thrown in his path and details how he maneuvered his strong emotions at the loss of his home country and status as a refugee in Europe, despite having European ancestry and roots, into a solid platform for literary growth. The book discusses how the digital publishing world transformed into Re Crivello’s homeland. It became a space where he could record thoughts, opinions, views, and fictional ideas in a truly international form as the internet is not limited by man-made borders and not generally subject to the limitations of home countries. The digital world allows people to transcend many of the limitations imposed by governments and societies and its goes two ways: the writer can communicate output to an international audience and can also receive input from that same wide and varied audience. I have never thought about this particular aspect of the internet although I do use and appreciate it. Re Crivello’s words really brought home to me what a marvelous and far reaching tool the internet is and how it has opened most of the world up to those who want to experience it.

This is a quote from the book that relates to the above concept:
«What matters most in this interpretation is its subject: the digital world. Crivello sees in the internet and global connectivity the potential fulfillment of Nietzsche’s prophecy. If Nietzsche predicted the death of God – that is, the dissolution of grand narratives of collective meaning – Crivello predicts the death of the state and the nation in the digital age: the emergence of an «interconnected neural brain» where individual talent circulates without borders or passports, where what matters is not where you’re from but what you can do.»

For me, this entire concept when viewed through this lens and in combination with the increasing abilities of AI, is completely compelling and, frankly, mind boggling. It is a very exciting and inspiring concept.

The book delves into many other sub-themes and ideas including detailing how Re Crivello set about building the Masticadores network which he describes as «This linguistic multiplicity is not merely a fact of his publishing activity: it is the embodiment of an identity that cannot be contained within a single language because it has been constructed across several.»

This book is not a text you can read in a few days, it is far to complex and thought provoking for that. It is a body that needs to be read slowly in order to maximise the learning experience and for the reader to reach a solid understanding of its progressive ideas and concepts. For me, a life long student of learning, this was an excellent book to push the boundaries of my thinking about modern publishing and the digital literary world.

Purchase Juan Re Crivello. Writing on the margins of the world. from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Juan-Crivello-Writing-margins-world-ebook/dp/B0GX2YTWHB

Or from Amazon UK here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Juan-Crivello-Writing-margins-world-ebook/dp/B0GX2YTWHB/

About Juan Re Crivello

Juan sent me four author photographs and they are all varied and interesting. I decided to include them all in a slideshow.

Writer

Active blogger for the digital editions of *El País*, *Clarín*, and *Le Monde*.

Has published: *Agosto*, *Memorias de un hombre estúpido*, *Kenneddy (osbscenity)*, *D Roccosick*, *IcanHear*, *TNTe*, *Poesía maldita*, *Planeta Zapatero*, and *Mandíbulas rotas*.

Lives in Barcelona, ​​Spain.

*Agosto* (Essay)

*Memorias de un hombre estúpido* (Essay/Biography)

*Kenneddy (osbscenity)* (Historical novel)

*IcanHearYouHavingSex* (Short stories)

*TNTe*

Short story collection

*La Iguana*

Amazon, 2012

«Essays in which the author uncovers the various everyday challenges faced by society.»

*Mandíbulas rotas*

Global Ebooks, June 4, 2011

Author: Juan Re Crivello

*Mandíbulas rotas*—the book before you—will surprise, intrigue, and captivate you. It will make you realize that the world revealed in each of its chapter-articles is woven from emotions and imagination that you will immediately recognize as your own.

And you will ask yourself why you are unable to reflect your own world in the same way.

*Planeta Zapatero*

http://www.bubok.com/libros/172889/planeta-zapatero-20072010, June 3, 2010

Author: Juan Re Crivello

*Planeta Zapatero* serves as a testament to the end of the «happy years» of Spanish economic growth (2007–2011). It also represents a commitment to analyzing common tropes and identifying the values ​​present in a society where the middle class is deeply conservative in its values ​​and narcissistic in its behavior.

A second book about Juan Re Crivello’s body of literature has recently become available: THE PORTABLE HOMELAND. Juan Re Crivello and the Invention of a Literature.

You can purchase this book from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/PORTABLE-HOMELAND-Crivello-Invention-Literature-ebook/dp/B0H6Z967ZL/

You can purchase this book on Amazon UK here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/PORTABLE-HOMELAND-Crivello-Invention-Literature-ebook/dp/B0H6Z967ZL/

About Robbie Cheadle

South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Social Media Links

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyFo_OJLPqFa9ZhHnCfHUA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
TSL Publications: https://tslbooks.uk/product-tag/robbie-cheadle/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robbie-Cheadle/author/B01N9J62GQ
Unsplash profile: https://unsplash.com/@r_cheadle