Abstract

RIVEIRO, María Belén. An Exercise in the Sociology of Literature: the Early Trajectory of César Aira (1970-1980, Buenos Aires). Rev. Pilquen. secc. cienc. soc. [online]. 2021, vol.24, n.2, pp.86-98. ISSN 1851-3123.

This article reflects upon literature from a sociological viewpoint through the study of the early trajectory of the writer César Aira. In stark contrast with the recognition Aira will gain in the late 1990s and early 21st Century, in the 1970s Aira first tries to publish his books with no success. Answering the question on how the value of this literary work changes throughout the years, I challenge the opposition between internal and external analysis of literary works to focus on the mediations between the text and the context. Framed in the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu, this article draws on in-depth interviews, scholarly literature, and archives to explore the zones of the field where Aira is positioned in the 1970s. I will argue Aira enjoys strong relationships with other writers and critics in the peripheries of the literary field but, notwithstanding this social capital, the conditions to enable the position he will occupy have yet to be developed.

Keywords : Sociology of Literature; Literary Field; Literature and Politics; Field of Publishing; César Aira.