“Iván Brave is a Houston-based author, poet, and scholar with several publications up his sleeve, ranging from fiction to essays and translations to poetry. Brave’s novels include The Summer Abroad (2018) and They Lived They Were at Brighton Beach (2020). However, my first encounter with Brave’s work was Awake & Asleep (2023), a novel manuscript that leapt off the page and onto the stage through an artist grant from the Houston Arts Alliance. In his latest chapbook, Lunas и Moons: A multilingual voyage (2024), Brave ambitiously seeks to demonstrate his range and depth for readers who enjoy experimental and thought-provoking writing.
“The multilingual voyage to be embarked on cannot simply be traced on a map or plotted on a navigation chart. Instead, Brave takes the reader through a series of five different transmutations of the written word—primarily in English and Spanish with a sprinkling of other tongues. The texts include two poems (one translated and one contrapuntal) and three short stories (from hybrid to concrete). Each piece is like a separate planet orbiting an unnamed sun, idea, or feeling. They do not provide the readers with any answers. Hence, Lunas и Moons is perfect for those willing to face discomfort and embrace the beauty of the unknown.”
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