Pedro Blas González

Bewildering Stories biography

to Bewildering Stories bibliography

“Iwayu” was a lot of fun to write. I am by no means a practician of Santeria but I have studied it closely, and thus the “facts” of the religion are all left in place. The story essentially critiques an overly analytical time when there is too much talk and not enough genuine belief.

Aside from the fiction, story-telling aspects, readers who know something about Santeria will, I think, find the story interesting. There are a great many references and messages throughout that I couldn’t explain away without becoming overly pedantic. Also, I thought that this was enough of a mystical and supernatural angle. Also, I wanted to leave something to suggestion. Yes, Bill changes, at least that is the dominant impression.

You are also correct to say that the story is somewhat unfinished, incomplete. It’s just that in the final analysis, probably all of our works are. I think that the thing is to weigh just how much of this incompleteness we are willing to accept. I think that this is true of a great number of things in life.

I am Associate Professor of Philosophy at Barry University, Miami, Florida (I don’t know that this will sound too exciting to your readers). I received a B.A. from the University of Alabama, 1987; M.A. DePaul University, 1989; Ph.D, 1995 also from DePaul.

I have published two books: Human Existence as Radical Reality: Ortega y Gasset’s Philosophy of Subjectivity and Fragments: Essays in Subjectivity, Individuality and Autonomy. This last book has everything to do with philosophical / existential understanding of literature (and I don’t mean cute, fashionable and trite French “theory”).

There is one chapter there on Enrique Anderson Imbert’s short Story “El Fantasma” (this story has been translated into English). This is a story about the afterlife that is utterly original and exciting. Take a look at this story, if you are not familiar with it. This one is immense fun to read.

I have great admiration for some very fine French thinkers: Marcel, the early Sartre, Camus, of course, Revel and lately Houellebecq and Luc Ferry. I think that Ferry and his mode of thinking is bound to pick up followers eventually. Everything else thus far has proven to be a dead end. The future couldn't seem more interesting. I hope I live to see it.

The Polish thinkers are underrated, I think. Yes, I have read Lem. His interviews are more animated than a Cuban funeral. But my favorite is Witkiewicz, this, without hesitation. “Insatiability” is a masterful and visionary work. I have also had a great deal of fun reading Gombrowicz’s “A Guide to Philosophy in Six Hours and Fifteen Minutes.” This work's irreverence and anti-academic flair have proven to be exciting and fresh (somewhat on the lines of Eric Hoffer; oh, what integrity).

Not French, but also a great one who I truly enjoy is Elias Canetti.

Anyhow, I came from Cuba in 1970 at age six with my parents and an older sister and have called Miami my home ever since. However, my first love has always been literature (from any part of the world, especially Polish).

I have a novel (manuscript) titled “Time’s Message” competing for a CINTAS Fellowship. Let’s see what happens. I know that fiction writing is the most difficult kind of writing, without a doubt.

I read a great deal of Poe growing up. In fact, I read Poe as I was learning English in grade school (strange, but true).