Novelists Should Write for the Public Sphere - In Conversation With Bécquer Seguin

In a conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Bécquer Seguin discusses his book “The Op-Ed Novel. A Literary History of Post-Franco Spain” (Harvard University Press, 2023). He elaborates on the concept of the op-ed novel, explains the idea of literary populism, advocates for the engagement of novelists in the public debates of historical and national meaning, and discusses some most noteworthy examples of Spanish op-ed novelists.

Bécquer Seguín is an assistant professor of Iberian studies at Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches the literary, cultural, and political history of modern Spain. He is a regular contributor to The Nation, where he has been reporting on Spain since 2015, and has written for Slate, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Public Books, where he co-edits the literature in translation and sports sections. The Op-Ed Novel is his first book.