(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Daniel Chacón’s ‘The Last Philosopher in Texas’ latest El Paso Matters Book Club pick [1] ['Cindy Ramirez', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] Date: 2024-05-15 Daniel Chacón says he writes stories the way he sees reality. “I see reality in really weird ways where coincidence is a habit. It’s not something that happens to you,” Chacón said during a recent episode of the El Paso-based literary radio show, Words on a Wire, which he co-hosts. Daniel Chacon (Courtesy UTEP Liberal Arts Department) He explained that understanding the principles of abstract, metaphysical and intellectual forms of realism allows one to “more effectively predict the future and direct energy” in ways that some might perceive as “magical.” The characters and fictional short stories in his latest book, “The Last Philosopher in Texas: Fictions and Superstitions,” are born from that crossover of ideas. “It’s about real people and the events in our lives that are inexplicable,” Chacón said in a recent video interview with Arte Público Press, the book’s publisher. “Like thinking of someone you haven’t thought of in years and then they show up at your front door. Is that magic or is it just the way reality works for some people?” “The Last Philosopher in Texas: Fictions and Superstitions” is the latest pick of the El Paso Matters Book Club, which introduces readers to authors from the region. The club features book selections every two months, book reviews and author Q&As, as well as in-person discussions with the authors. Mostly set in the Texas-Mexico border, the stories in Chacón’s book include “Borges and the Chicanx” about a Chicano professor who is asked to teach a course on a famed Latin American writer whose work he has never read, and “Sara’s Chest of Drawers” about a young man whose dead twin sister sends him a sign from beyond when he goes through her things. The stories blend “the ordinary with the extraordinary, making the fantastical feel surprisingly tangible,” the publisher states in its book description, adding that the themes center around “outsider status and displacement, cultural representation and authenticity, identity and collective memory.” A professor of creative writing and literature at the University of Texas at El Paso’s Bilingual Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, Chacón is the author of seven books, including “Kafka in a Skirt,” “The Cholo Tree” and “Hotel Juárez: Stories, Rooms and Loops.” “The Last Philosopher in Texas” was released in March. Chacón has been honored with the Southwest Book Award and the American Book Award, among others. Reading Schedule May 15-21: pgs. 1-20 pgs. 1-20 May 22-28: pgs. 21-45 pgs. 21-45 May 29-June 4: pgs. 46-71 pgs. 46-71 June 5-11: pgs. 72-95 pgs. 72-95 June 12-18: pgs. 96-118 pgs. 96-118 June 19-25: pgs. 119-139 pgs. 119-139 June 26-July 2: pgs. 140-END pgs. 140-END July 2: In-person discussion (tentative date) You can join the bimonthly club by clicking here. How to get the book [END] --- [1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/05/15/el-paso-matters-book-club-daniel-chacon-last-philosopher-texas/ Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/