"She doesn’t control her writing decisions." Bilingual Issue - Natalia Carrero

Tana Oshima introduced me to Natalia Carrero, a writer and artist living in Madrid, Spain. Her writing themes are about maladjustments, addictions, and mental illnesses using images and words in Spanish. She occasionally writes in English. Her books are available internationally from Amazon. 

I am excited to share Carrero's work because this is the first bilingual issue of Working On Gallery!

Carrero wrote two short essays:

• ​"Babbling pages" in English
• "Consulta" in Spanish

These essays are juxtaposed about controal.

​"Babbling pages" is about a writing process - - let it be - - embrace spontaneity and do not follow rules or previous methods.

On the other hand, "Consulta" is about eczema. The narrative tries to control her condition first. I have never seen an accurate drawing and writing of this condition. Random letters rise up from the skin's surface. It looks very irritating. I truly know that itchy feeling. I am an eczema patient from birth.

Therefore, I thought that it may be a good idea to translate "Consulta" from Spanish to English. I took Spanish classes for two semesters at my Japanese college twenty years ago, and I took Italian classes last year for my trip. It is obvious that my Spanish is an early beginner's level, but I thought that it may be a good experiment to use both Google Translate and my creative writing experience.

If you are a translator and also translate Carrero's "Consulta" into English, let me know. I am happy to share your version on Working on Gallery and my Instagram account.

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Instagram @lalectoracomun

Natalia Carrero, Barcelona 1970. I doodle and draw, think fast and think slow. In my books, I combine both speeds to narrate maladjustments, addictions and mental illnesses. A novel: I'm a box, translated by Johanna Warren. A comic: Letra rebelde. Last fanzine: Gran ofertón.

Spanish Version, I'm a box
English Version, I'm a box

Instagram @lalectoracomun

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Babbling pages:
Essay in English by Natalia Carrero

A suspicion: she is not just she but a sum of voices and experiences, and also the tree and the street and all things and news around. She does not have the control of her words but she tries to understand why we are becoming more and more individualists. She wishes to comunicate anything more than a message. The algorithm of our lives always intervienes, the imperatives of consum this and that just now, and that over-sugared stuff too. She doesn’t control her writing decisions.

Natalia Carrero

Sometimes she purposely went out of control. She releases the rules, the learnings. Her best texts are. Not are. Never the best. Her handcrafted productions. Her asemic else. Unreadable. Something uncomfortable. When she thinks she is realy loosing her comunication ability or she feels too tired to believe in bubbling and bubbling, she tries to draw. Literatura del balbuceo. Paper and ink, just it, do it, move on. Black and withe, simplicity. Not exactly, constant search. She also mentally scribble while she walks or she takes the bus. Life could be devoid of objectives, goals, targets, be a present space of undefined movements. improvisations with effects and defects, discoveries, and all the doubts and hesitations should become more prominent. Babbling again, come here.

Natalia Carrero

Without knowing why, or to activate the latent power of all the useless gestures, last february she made a fanzine, direct literature from face to face, smile to smile, sonrisa, páginas repletas de balbuceos registrados casi para nada. Fotocopiados en papel reciclado, encantados de recibir cualquier día el olvido que las memoria les reserve. Sixty pages full of babbling registered almost for nothing. Photocopied on recycled paper, delighted to receive any day the oblivion that memory reserves for them.

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Consulta:
​Essay in Spanish by Natalia Carrero
​
Pregunta la doctora si es autónoma para darle la baja hasta que se le pase el curioso eczema alfabético. Resulta tan insólito que ha hecho fotos con el móvil, para su análisis posterior junto a colegas especialistas dermatología.
Bueno, es autónoma en cierto modo, claro, cada mañana se viste y asea, y más cosas, sin ayuda. A efectos económicos sin embargo es dependiente, como algunas vecinas, del hombre blanco encorbatado que al final del día exige halagos, un esquema del siglo pasado. Con todo lo que ha trabajado, y el cansancio patente que le supura la piel, cómo pica, cuánto durará, ¿acaso ese mensaje que lanza el eczema no está diciendo algo? Pues resulta que la jornada aún debe alargarse más en formato juerga carnal unilateralmente solicitada. ¿Y si insiste para que la doctora lea de una vez lo que pone?
¿Qué le voy a decir, doctora, soy o no soy autónoma? Dejémoslo, no me dé la baja ni la pomada, si por la tarde encuentro el momento ya me leo yo el eczema y me autoprescribo lo primero que alcance. Con un poco de suerte todo esto también pasará.

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Consultation:
Translated by Naoko Fujimoto

The doctor asks if this girl can take a sick day off until unknown, alphabetic words disappear on her skin. It is so unusual that the doctor took photos with their cellphone to share with his fellow dermatologists in later analysis.
Well, in a way she takes control, of course, every morning she dresses and washes herself, and deals with more daily complications without anybody’s help. She relies on her expenses as other neighbors do. The white man wearing a tie only receives praise at the end of the day, this economic system has been dominant for the last century. Despite her effort, her skin oozes out. It will last forever; how irritating it is. What does this want to tell? Well, it takes her eternal future like a unilaterally requested carnal spree. Doctor, what are the words written on her skin? Can she control them or not? Don't give the sick leave or the ointment. Let's leave it as is, so she will find the time to explore eczema. She will prescribe the first thing she can this afternoon. With a little luck, all of her conflicts will pass too.

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You may be interested in purchasing...

Five Euro, Chapbook on Sale

Primera página First page fanzine babbling literature.
60 páginas, tercera versión en abril 2024
​If you would like to purchase this chapbook, please contact: Natalia Carrero

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You may also like to read...

To read the full essay, click on the picture.

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