This morning, I learnt that John Barth passed away yesterday. Not that I knew much about this writer, but I always remember The End of the Road, a novel with many black comedy streaks that made a strong impression on me, back in the 80s. Back then, obviously there was no internet, which, along with some degree of laziness, prevented my learning more about this author.

However, living in a time where all things make it to your desk in a trice (with a little help of stealthy algorithms), I'm now making my way through multiple obituaries -- and I find that Barth, tagged by many as some sort of a postmodernist, was more renowned than I thought. Most interesting so far, is the mention of an essay he wrote as an assignment by the Government; it was supposed to be included in a compilation of essays by a set of well-known authors. The book was to be submitted to several US embassies, in order to show aspects of US culture abroad. I read, though, that Barth's essay was finally rejected -- he apparently was rude enough to make some unwelcome political remarks. The essay was written in 2002 -- i.e. shortly after the 9/11 attacks-- and its title is telling: "The Relevance of Irrelevance - Writing American." I've just got it on the net, the first lines are engaging. Not sure if there's a Spanish translation -- I suppose there is -- otherwise I could start one as a posthumous tribute.