Sergio Pitol: Inspiration and the Writing Workshop

Abstract

This article will address Sergio Pitol’s writing process based on his personal diaries, in which he wrote down in them the ideas and progress of the plot outlines of all his novels and some of his short stories. He also specified his writing schedules and writing retreats (Marienbad, Mojacar, Lanzarote, etc.). We have, then, the motives and genesis of his creative ideas that emerged in dialogue with his life as a diplomat in Eastern European countries and, on the other hand, his writing workshop. Pitol’s diaries are in the archives of Princeton University. Their consultation has allowed us to verify a series of theses suggested by critics. In this article we will focus on two: 1) the characters and plots of his fictional writings are in direct dialogue with historical characters and situations related to his biography; 2) his writing process was organized around the idea of “inspiration”, hence the search for spaces that would propitiate it and isolate him from the cultural milieu and the mundane affairs of work.