'' The dying skin will give way to insects to bring this living world ''
Natalia García - a graduate of the School of Social Communication, a researcher at the UDA and coordinator of the University Clubs - is the author of the book “Our Dead Skin”, highlighted by the New York Times as one of the best books of 2019.
The work, published under the Spanish publishing house La Navaja Suiza, will be presented at the University on Friday, January 17 and, for this reason, we speak with the author:
How was your experience when you studied Social Communication at UDA?
My experience was very nice, because the Communication career gives you the opportunity to try several fields related to language. Before writing the novel I worked as a journalist. Inside the University there was a newsroom where I had the opportunity to collaborate for some media.
Was the passion for writing born when you studied Communication or is it something that you have always had?
It is a vocation that I had since I was a child; especially for reading, and over time it became a desire to write. When I entered the University I had professors who guided me with readings and lent me books that were not available in the city, that opened the doors for me to learn other stories.
Before entering the University I did write some stories that will remain hidden forever.
As coordinator of the Fiction Writing club at the UDA, what topics do you try to teach your students?
I try to get students to find their voice, I think that is the most important thing. Get out of that place where you think that writing is one thing. I want them to learn that there are several ways and find their own version to write.
Now that you are a University researcher, what kind of research are you developing?
I work with professors Catalina González and Cecilia Ugalde on the subject of digital literacy. We focus on finding out how education methods are changing thanks to digital evolution and how prepared we are before the media that all the time throw us information.
What was the inspiration to write your first book?
The novel has several origins, one of them is the garden of my grandparents' house. In that house I lived my childhood. Childhood is one of the stages where you strengthen your own fables and fictions. The idea of earth and insects came out organically with writing.
Another of the origins was the language, because when you write your brain works differently, because the language is recreated almost unconsciously.
Why the title "Our dead skin"?
Dead skin is this step towards life. The dying skin is what will give way to insects to bring this living world. Lucas's dead skin - the main character of the novel - and visitors is a metaphor for many things; as for example, the skin of the whole family that is rotting.
UDA Correspondent
