Beatriz Sarlo, the distinguished Argentine literary critic and cultural historian has passed away at the age of 82. She held the Simón Bolívar Chair at Cambridge in 1991-92.
Beatriz leaves a uniquely varied corpus of contributions to the intellectual life of Argentina composed of contributions to history and to literary and cultural criticism. Among her most notable works are Una modernidad periférica: Buenos Aires 1920 y 1930 (1988); La imaginación técnica: sueños modernos de la cultura Argentina (1992, written in Cambridge) and Borges: un escritor en las orillas (1993, based on her lectures in Cambridge). To these and many other books should be added her innumerable opinion pieces published in newspapers and which occasioned widespread comment.
Beatriz was noted for her uncommon independence of mind and her defiance of ready-made political affiliations, having supported and opposed governments and movements of many different stripes during her life as a public intellectual.
Side by side with her own writings stands the monumental achievement of the monthly Punto de vista, which began appearing in 1978 during the darkest days of the dirty war and stood alone in keeping alive the flame of culture and literature as well as art and architectural criticism. Three of its founders figured among the disappeared, but Beatriz and her colleagues persisted right through dictatorship, the transition to electoral politics and on up to its dissolution, after 30 years and 90 editions, in 2008.
During her time in Cambridge, Beatriz Sarlo made a lasting impression through her engaging teaching and intellectual vigour. Her inaugural lecture was particularly memorable, recounting her experience interviewing Raymond Williams on a previous visit and his influence on her own work. She offered a comprehensive course on Borges’ El informe de Brodie, which later developed into the aforementioned book. Her presence enriched the academic life of the Centre not only through her formal lectures but also through her active participation in stimulating debates with other scholars and writers visiting Cambridge, including Sylvia Molloy and Carlos Fuentes.
The connexion with Cambridge and the Centre of Latin American Studies was continued with the appointment of another member of the Punto de vista group, Adrián Gorelik, as Simón Bolívar Professor in 2011-12, and of Graciela Silvestri as a Visiting Fellow.
Beatriz Sarlo will be sorely missed by all who knew her in Cambridge.
Photo: Beatriz Sarlo. (Credit: Archivo Clarín / Néstor García)