eduardo espina is a world-renowned writer of spanish literature who knows the importance of persistence espinas persistence recently paid off when he was announced as a 2022-2023 fulbright senior scholarship recipient in addition to writing original masterpieces like the recently published libro albedrío a book of essays aptly referred to as the best writing in spanish north of the river plate and south of the rio grande espina teaches hispanic studies classes at texas a&m university he will employ both his writing and teaching skills in using his fulbright scholarship espinas fulbright scholarship will empower him to spend a semester in paraguay thinking reading and writing his next breakthrough work of literature i plan to write a book on the changing notions regarding innovation originality novelty and anticanonical writing in the context of 21st-century hispanic american poetry espina shared in addition to writing this book i will be giving a seminar onnew writing of the americas for undergraduate and graduate students of state and private universities in asuncion it will be at the centro cultural de españa (cce/cervantes institute) dependent on the spanish government espinas inspiration to apply for the scholarship came in the form of a suggestion from the fulbright commission a few years ago the fulbright commission invited me to apply in the main category and suggested i do research and teach in paraguay a country in which i have never been espina said two years ago after thinking it over i applied however after passing all the academic filters and the committee telling me that my project was very good they informed me that i had not been selected however i did not see this rejection as the end but instead an invitation to apply again so i did the same tedious and tiring process again but this time i won persistence is key the fulbright scholarship is already inspiring espina to think positively about the future and to continue his quest to fill both his own mind and his students minds with imagination and creativity he said its important for faculty members to receive support through fellowships because the generosity highlights the fact that creation and research matter in a global context all the great american universities give great importance to literary and artistic creation which is why they are the best in the world espina explained that is the next goal to which our university should aspire in my case all the scholarships i have won have been by being a poet essayist and scholar i think its not a bad combination the writers condition matters more and more in a world in which it is impossible to conceive reality without the presence of the imagination as a poet i regularly receive invitations from all over the world from china from russia from europe and from latin america due to the vacuum of certainties in a constantly changing world this is a great time for the arts and for the use of the imagination winning this fulbright scholarship highlights that the interview for this story was conducted while espina was teaching abroad in chile in the aggies in the andes program which he founded and has directed since 2015 during his trip he announced to his 26 students that hes never going to retire from academia which means he will continue to inspire hope for the future persistence in writing and active imaginations for generations of aggies yet to come in the more immediate future he said he looks forward to sharing a little about texas a&m in paraguay i think that my time in paraguay almost four months in total will be a great opportunity to promote the image of texas a&m as a leading research institution espina said