Valerie Miles is one of the most influential editors of literature in Spanish. A promoter of authors between the two shores of the Atlantic, her work has been decisive, for example, in making Roberto Bolaño one of the most influential writers of the late 20th century.
Miles, who is also a writer and translator, as well as being responsible, along with Aurelio Major, for the edition of Granta magazine in Spanish, likes to work in silence, away from the commercial spotlight, taking care of a small but very leafy garden. She does it without haste, with glamour, but also with great seriousness because she is very aware that only a job well done remains.
“The time of good books is infinite,” he says, remembering the editor Beatriz de Moura, author of this reflection that he shares one hundred percent.
Whether a book is good depends, in large part, on the publisher. Valerie Miles does not believe that her job is only to publish but, above all, to guide the writer in his creative process so that the distance between his idea and its implementation on paper is as small as possible.
We all know that perfection is impossible, but this distance, which is the distance of failure for every creator, can be reduced to a minimum. Valerie is convinced of this and that is why she throws herself with ideas and a left hand in a task that is learning and a conversation with the authors.
For eight years he worked in the Roberto Bolaño archive. The writer had passed away leaving many unpublished manuscripts. Her family turned to Valerie to give it life and meaning. She did it without anyone knowing, not even her editor. Keeping secrets is one of her great values ​​as a person and editor.
The humility shown by the writers who accept her advice, and among them are Nobel laureates, is comparable to the anonymity of Valerie Miles. She is not interested in the credits, only the result, that the work be good, the best possible.
“I am going to grow up without being cynicalâ€, she said to herself one day when she was little, a purpose that is a commitment to oneself. Without honesty there is no greatness, nor epic, nor a life capable of taking your breath away.
At the age of ten, while her school friends watched Bambi, she learned from her father how to skin a killed deer in the thick of the Pennsylvania woods. With this experience, any intelligent person learns to distinguish between the false and the authentic, opening up a path of wisdom between both extremes that Valerie Miles walks supported by letters.
The King James Bible (1611), read in chorus in family intimacy, opened the doors to a mythical and perpetual world, later nourished with readings and mentors such as Paul Bowles, whom he met in Tangier in the eighties and whom he accompanied then in his illness; Richard Ford, central figure in Granta’s adventure in Spanish and who taught him to read and edit better; the ghost of Roberto Bolaño, whom he met through his manuscripts and from whom he learned to live honestly; John Coetzee, a writer with whom he continues to collaborate today; and Victoria Cirlot, the medieval philologist who challenges her to think beyond appearances.
Valerie Miles finds that the teachings of these mentors provide her with a daily and regenerative boost. The magic of her words and the transforming power of her language show him that nothing makes sense outside of literature. “Literature saved my life”, she acknowledges as any good writer does.
