Rituals of Literary Fans in the Works of Augusto Monterroso and Bárbara Jacobs

Abstract

We have coined the concept "ritual of a devout reader" in order to define all actions that are somehow codified by the idolization of an author and his/her work. These actions may be highly (Bloomsday) or lowly (visit of Joyce’s grave) codified. They are all conducted by devout readers who believe the author and his/her work to have an aura of uniqueness; and they are all unreasonable. This article focuses on the work of Augusto Monterroso and Bárbara Jacobs in order to answer the following questions: ¿Who are the texts and authors that deserve their faithful reading?, ¿What do they do in order to establish a dialogue with their idols and their work? and ¿Why do they decide to write about these rituals and publish them? Our theoretical approach follows the interdisciplinary work of Pierre Bourdieu, Pascale Casanova and Jeffrey C. Alexander.