Buenos Aires – proud of a literary heritage including Jorge Luis Borges, above – already pays writers a monthly pension of almost £400. Photograph: Eduardo Di Baia/AP
Argentina is to consider granting a special pension to writers on the grounds that they generate "social richness" but often end up impoverished.
The lower house of congress will study a proposal presented on Tuesday that would give published authors a monthly stipend of £565, well above the state minimum pension.
The idea, inspired by similar initiatives in France and Spain, would offer the pension to those who are aged over 65 and have published at least five books or invested more than 20 years in "literary creation".
"Writers support the general culture of a community. They are individual creators who generate a sort of social richness that is difficult to quantify," Carlos Heller, a deputy from the socialist party who sponsored the initiative,
told the BBC.
Some analysts said the proposal, coming from a party which supports the president, Cristina Kirchner, appeared linked to her expected run for a second term in October's election. Recent populist measures include sending trucks with cheaply priced meat to poor neighbourhoods.
Mario Goloboff, a writer and university professor, said the pension would remedy a cultural anomaly. "The state grants prestige to intellectuals but that isn't payment." He said hundreds of Argentine writers dedicated their lives to literary output only to struggle financially in old age, and "they deserve a pension".
Full story at The Guardian. 
No comments:
Post a Comment