Ramon writes again

by Basil Thomson

This book is a selection of humorous columns, written in the form of letters from Ramon (he prefers his name to be written without the accent), which appeared in the Buenos Aires Herald over a period of almost 30 years. They established Ramon as an immortal literary figure - a giant Spanglish literature - and a topic of conversation wherever Spanish and English are spoken.

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Patricio J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basil Thomson wrote the Mulberry Bush column in the Buenos Aires Herald for several decades, every now and then he published letters from his (imaginary) friend Ramon, in the country. All these letters were very funny. Caveat: To appreciate Ramon Writes, not only must you understand both Spanish and English, but the Spanglish in use in those days. This form of Spanglish was also known ass V.T. English or Irish Porteño. V.T. stands for Venado Tuerto, in the South of the Province of Santa Fé, rural home to many both Anglo and Irish Argentines. Irish Porteño refers to the myriad hiberno descendants in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas. I read and re-read it several times. It is a classic to me. May this book be put back in print, I would buy it, of course. I know that the target community is reduced and might not be a worthwhile capital venture. I also know that there is a large diaspora of English speaking Argentines spread throughout many countries, plus those still bilinguals living in Argentina. Many are my age (+/-) 70 and remember well those days of The Buenos Aires Herald, Basil Thomson, The Mulberry Bush and Ramon Writes. Thank you. Paddy Flynn.