Viggo Mortensen

Actor, publisher, painter, photographer 
Viggo Mortensen is a Renaissance man. Actor, publisher, painter, photographer, musician. He is also always on the move pursuing a new project. The last one is a publishing House called Perceval Press.
 
Q. Why did you become a publisher?
 
A. It is educational and personally satisfying for me to help find a way to present artists and voices that otherwise might not be published, and to do so in a way that faithfully represents an author's work in terms of both content and design.
 
Q. Where does your love of literature come from?
 
A. My mother read to me a lot as a young boy, and I have continued to read a great deal, and to find solace and inspiration in good story-telling.
 
Q. What are you reading right now?
 
A. Lately I have been reading about prehistoric European art, as well as poems by Venezuelan writers like Patricia Guzmán.
 
Q. Your favorite writer in Spanish?
 
A. There are too many good ones to be able to single one out.
 
Q. Which book stands out?
 
A. Not to be self-serving, but our publishing company, Perceval press, has just released a very good collection of recent argentine poetry called "Antología de la nueva poesía Argentina".   Following the military dictatorship, which came to an end in 1983, new voices emerged in Argentina's historically fertile literary scene, above all in the field of poetry. The poems collected in this book represent some of the most gifted members of the so-called "generation of the 90s". Due to the strong reaction to the book's release, we are planning for a second volume.
 
Q.  When do you read since you travel so much?
 
A. I do read on planes a great deal, but really almost anywhere. It is always a pleasure to read outdoors. Nothing like getting lost in a book by the sea or a river, or in the middle of a forest or desert, and suddenly look up to find that so much time has magically passed while your mind and heart went on a journey.
 
Q. From Spain, what did you remember with joy?
 
A. I have very good friends in Spain, and I am fond of the rhythm of life there, both in the cities and in the country. As far as landscapes go, I feel particularly at home in the north, in the province of León. while it may not always be right at the top of most tourist's lists of places they feel they must visit on the Iberian peninsula, I have found a great deal of natural beauty, history, cultural uniqueness, wonderful culinary experiences, and some of the world's most friendly people in the ancient kingdom of León.
 
 
Author: Rosana Ubanell