Roberto Ransom
Roberto Ransom Carty (born 1960) is a Mexican writer. Regarded as one of Mexico's most original authors, his published work includes novels, collections of short stories, poetry, an essay on Graham Greene and work on Mexico, as well as several award-winning children's books. He is a member of the Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte. Early life and education. Roberto Ransom was born in Mexico City to a second-generation Irish American family that emigrated to Mexico. For his undergraduate education, Ransom applied to the National Autonomous University of Mexico where he studied dramatic literature  and theater at the School of Philosophy and Letters. His time there introduced him to the artistic world of Mexico during the La Decada Perdida of the 1980s. After nearly a decade of working as a journalist and writer, Ransom received a Fulbright-Garcia Robles Scholarship and studied for a M.A. and a PhD degree in theology, ethics, and culture at the University of Virginia in the late 1990s. Afterwards, he returned to Mexico to write and teach at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua. Writing style. At the School of Philosophy and Letters, and during his early career, Roberto Ransom  formed close friendships with other young writers such as Ana García Bergua, Tedi López Mills, Ignacio Padilla, and Jennifer Clement"."This generation of writers discovered beyond magic realism through work that was only implicitly related to Mexico or Latin America. Instead, it placed emphasis on experimentation and structure by using polyphonic and nonlinear narratives, as well as unreliable narrators, and usage of Mexican Spanish. Ransom's work is unique in that it can also be read as simultaneously relating to the foreign experience in Mexico, and to foreign realities experienced through a subtle but uniquely Mexican sensibility. Ransom's work  is also influenced by English and American Gothic writing traditions. His writing has been described as "clear, pellucid writing for dark and tortuous stories" by American translator Edith Grossman, who went on to describe this tension as "a devastating contrast between substance and style". His writing has also been regarded as charming, subtle and refined, with emotionally deep characters and insights. Ransom's writing has at times been criticized for its anticlimactic endings, as well as intricate and demanding narratives that while atmospheric, depend largely on internal character developments that drive otherwise sparse plots. Both his novel "Tale of Two  Lions" (Norton 2007), and the collection of short stories "Missing Persons, Animals, and Artists" (Swan Isle Press/University of Chicago 2018), have been translated and published in English. "Missing Persons, Animals, and Artists" has enjoyed critical acclaim for its translation by Daniel Shapiro, who was awarded grants by PEN America, and the National Endowment for the Arts for its completion. Personal life. Roberto Ransom is married and has three children. He currently lives in Chihuahua, Mexico, where he is a tenured professor at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua.