Sussex University

Paul Tiessen, the Canadian scholar and Laura Marcus -from Sussex University, lecturing at the Conference. June 27th 2007. The encounter was called Malcolm Lowry: 50 years on. Paul Tiessen, profesor canadiense y Laura Marcus de la universidad de Sussex ofreciendo una conferencia en el encuentro llamado: "Malcolm Lowry: 50 años de camino", celebrado el 27 de junio del 2007.
Paul Tiessen, professor canadiano, e Laura Marcus, da Universidade de Sussex, durante uma conferência no encontro "Malcolm Lowry: 50 anos de caminho", que teve lugar a 27 de Junho de 2007.

Downtown Brighton

This is a picture showing downtown Brighton, Sussex, England, summer 2007. The sea looks beautiful.
Esta es una foto del centro de Brighton, Sussex Inglaterra, tomada en el verano del 2007 con el mar al fondo. Ripe es una pequeña villa a unos 20 o 30km de ahí.
Fotografia do centro de Brighton, Sussex, Inglaterra, tirada no Verão de 2007, com o mar ao fundo. Ripe é uma pequena vila a uns 20 ou 30 km de distância.

life and letters: day of the dead

Life and Letters

Day of the Dead

Malcolm Lowry’s mysterious demise.

by D.T. Max December 17, 2007

After Lowry published “Under the Volcano,” in 1947, he was hailed as a successor to Joyce. His wife, Margerie, edited the book.

Malcolm Lowry died in his cottage in the village of Ripe, in Sussex, late at night on June 26, 1957, or early the next morning. He was forty-seven years old. His wife, Margerie, found his body upstairs, on the floor of their bedroom. An autopsy revealed that Lowry, an alcoholic, had been drunk, and the doctor who examined the body found that he had swallowed a large number of barbiturates and had inhaled some half-digested food from his stomach. An inquest was held, at which a police officer, the Lowrys’ landlady, and Margerie testified. The coroner ruled the fatality a “misadventure”—that is, an accident. Lowry had choked to death on his own vomit.

(to continue reading click in the link above)

ritual

I droped some mezcal in Lowry's tomb and drank some for myself. Some other scholars who were there had a shot too. I placed an Alas cigarrete over the tombstone and it consumed over completely, people were impressed by the fact that it seemed that Lowry was actually smoking it, in that very moment there was a thunder and it began a tender rain. I droped also the beer completely and some anis shots, I left the complete bottle for him to drank slowly. For us Mexicans it is completely normal to do this kind of things and offer the things the dead liked when alive but the English were very surprised to see me talking Lowry and giving him those presents... cultural matters.
Vertí un poco de mezcal sobre la tumba de Lowry y bebí un poco yo mismo, algunos otros académicos que estaban ahí bebieron también. Puse un cigarro Alas sobre la lápida y rápidamente se consumió todo, la gente se quedó impresionada al ver lo que parecía Malcolm Lowry fumando en ese preciso momento se escuchó un rayo y empezó una lluvia tenue. También vertí una cerveza oscura completa y un poco de anís del mono, dejé la botella completa para que la bebiera despacio. Para los mexicanos es completamente normal hacer este tipo de ofrendas a los muertos, las cosas que les gustaban en vida, pero los ingleses estaban muy sorprendidos de verme hablando con Lowry y darle presentes... cuestiones culturales.

Lowry's epitaph

Malcolm Lowry
Late of the Bowery
His prose was flowery
And often glowery
He lived, nightly, and drank, daily,
And died playing the ukelele.

Lowrianitems

During the lectures in Sussex University there was a small exhibition taken by Rebollo showing Ultramarine mezcal, Mexican Indio dark beer, Alas cigarretes, Anis del mono, ungüento 666 -a vapor rub- and some copies of the documentary "Malcolm Lowry in Mexico" by the Mexican director Oscar Menéndez. The beer and mezcal were droped in Lowry's grave.
Durante las conferencias en la Universidad de Sussex monté una pequeña exhibición con mezcal ultramarina, cerveza oscura indio, cigarros alas, anís del mono, ungüento 666 (un vaporub) y unas copias del documental Malcolm Lowry en México del director mexicano Oscar Menéndez. La cerveza y el mezcal fueron vertidos en la tumba.

restrooms

This picture was taken inside the Lamb restrooms, this is the pub where Lowry drank before he died, this is still the only pub in Ripe. A curious picture.
Esta fotografía fue tomada en el interior del pub llamado "the lamb" (el cordero) que fue donde bebió Lowry sus últimas copas antes de morir, por cierto sigue siendo el único bar del pueblito de Ripe. ¡Curiosa decoración!

volcanoes

The two volcanoes seen from Cuernavaca in a clear day in 1925, nowadays pollution doensn't allow us to see them frecuently. What a shame! But in Lowry's times surely the landscape was this moving and this wonderful.
Los volcanes vistos desde Cuernavaca en un día claro de 1925, hoy en día la contaminación no nos permite admirarlos frecuentemente. ¡Qué pena! Pero en tiempos de Lowry seguramente el paisaje era así de maravilloso.

Rivera

Diego Rivera's famous mural dedicated to the Day of the Dead, it depicts a bit about the traditions and was the cover of the book during some time.
Famoso mural de Rivera en el cual muestra las tradiciones del día de muertos. Fue portada del libro durante algún tiempo.

white cottage

This is the house where Lowry died on the second floor. Gordon Bowker, his biographer, suspects he may have been murdered by Margerie, although his death will always be a mistery.
Esta es la casa donde murió Lowry, murió en el segundo nivel. Gordon Bowker, su biógrafo, sospecha que pudo haber sido asesinado por Margerie, aunque su muerte siempre será un misterio.

Ripe

A plaque in Ripe East Sussex England where Lowry died.
Placa colocada en la casa donde vivió y murió Lowry en Ripe, East Sussex, Inglaterra.

LaCatrina

A Posada's engrave depicting a dead Upper Class Lady, this is part of the Mexican tradition and "culture of death".
Un grabado de Posada mostrando una mujer de clase alta, parte de la tradición mexicana de la "cultura de la muerte".

popo

The Popocatepetl (smoking mountain in Nahuatl, the Aztec language) seen from a small town in Puebla. The volcano made an eruption in the year 2000. A very beautiful mountain. Together with the Iztaccihuatl (the sleeping lady) they are the great frame of Mexico City and surroundings.
El Popocatépetl (o montaña humeante en nahuatl, la lengua azteca) visto desde Amecameca en Puebla. El volcán hizo erupción en el año 2000. Hermosa montaña que junto con la Iztaccíhuatl, o mujer dormida, son el gran marco de la ciudad de México y sus alrededores.

lowry

This is a mythical image of Lowry, it shows him drunk and about to fall to the ground with a Bols bottle, great image!
Esta es una mítica imagen de Lowry; aparece borracho, a punto de caerse con una botella de Bols, ¡buena toma!

lowrys

The Lowrys in Cuernavaca in a happy mood in their first time here, 1936-37. It was a house in an indeterminate place north of Humboldt street close to Laruelle's house.
Los Lowry en Cuernavaca muy contentos en su primera visita, 1936-37. Esta era una vivienda en un lugar indeterminado sobre la calle Humboldt, al norte de la casa de Laruelle.

jan&marge

Here you can appreciate how physicaly similar Jan and Marge were. They were both models for the fictional Yvonne of the Volcano. Aquí podemos apreciar la similitud física entre Jan y Marge, ambas fueron modelo para la ficticia Yvonne del "Volcán."
Aqui podemos verificar as semelhanças físicas entre Jan e Marge. Ambas serviram de modelo para a fictícia Yvonne de "Debaixo do Vulcão"

Jan

A very beautiful picture, showing a gorgeous woman. Jan after leaving Lowry and back in California, she started a new life after getting a divorce. Later she would write her book: Inside the volcano (2000) in which she comments much about her intimate life with and without Lowry. She died in 2001. Hermosa fotografía que muestra cuan bella era Jan. La toma es poco tiempo luego de haber dejado a Lowry y de regreso en California donde empezó una nueva vida después de obtener el divorcio. En el año 2000 publicó "Dentro del volcán" en el cual comenta sobre sus intimidades con Lowry y sin él. Murió en el 2001.
Bonita fotografia mostrando quão bela era Jan. A foto foi tirada pouco tempo depois ter deixado Lowry, quando Jan regressou à Califórnia, aí começando uma nova vida, depois de obter o divórcio. No ano 2000 publicou "Inside the Volcano" ("Dentro do vulcão"), onde fala da sua intimidade com e sem Lowry. Faleceu em 2001.

Larulle's house

The model of Larulle's house is now the Hotel Bajo el volcán, located just one block from the Cortes Palace, downtown Cuernavaca on 19 Humboldt Street. It was here where Lowry wrote his apology of Under the volcano for Jonathan Cape and where he received the news that it was going to be published, he also tried to commit suicide in here. Image taken from Ackerly's site.
El modelo para la casa de Laruelle es ahora el hotel Bajo el volcán, situado justo a una cuadra del Palacio de Cortés, en el centro de Cuernavaca en el número 19 de la calle Humboldt (Nicaragua en la novela) Aquí fue donde Lowry escribió la apología de su novela para Johnatan Cape y donde posteriormente recibió la noticia de la publicación de ésta, también intentó suicidarse aquí.

spanishedition

The Spanish edition of Under the Volcano -Bajo el volcán- translated by the mexican scholar and friend Raúl Ortiz y Ortiz has a cover in which there appears a serigraphy by the Mexican artist Alberto Gironlla about Volcano, the book was first published in Spanish in 1964 by Ediciones Era, Mexico City.

the book

This is a first edition with an excellent cover of the book; the image shows Nicaragua street, the ravine and the volcano, present editions show worse things.

calle nicaragua

Humboldt street is the model for the Nicaragua Street in Under the Volcano, here is a picture taken from a point close to Larulle's house pointing south Cuernavaca.

Our Portuguese member

From back to front, Oscar Menéndez, Felix García and Marcel Teixeira, the Portuguese member of the Malcolm Lowry Foundation at the 2007 encounter.

lowry's house

Lowry's house in Cuernavaca was preserved due to the work of the city lowrians who stoped the owner of the house from destroying it and build a new house.

Poster of the 2007 colloquium

Here it is the poster showing how many people participated in the last colloquium.

Este es el poster del Coloquio, que muestra cuántas personas participaron.

special label

Aranda's special label for the 2007 mezcal and colloquium.

Etiqueta especial, obra de Aranda, para el mezcal del Coloquio 2007.

2002

Above: Felix García and Oscar Mata at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos during the 1st International Malcolm Lowry Colloquium 2002. Below: Oscar Mata, Chris Ackerley, Oscar Menéndez, Sherrill Grace, Raúl Ortiz y Ortiz and friends in front of the Mirrors tomb, this tomb is the one that is mentioned, or at least corresponds very precisely with the description made in Dark as the grave... Raúl Ortiz is the translator of Under the Volcano into Spanish, a splendid job!

friends at colloquium

First picture from left: David Lida and Alberto Rebollo, Below: Chris Ackerley, Rebollo and Andy Smith at the 2002 colloquium in Cuernavaca. Smith is our American Founder Member of our Foundation. Rebollo was the winner of the Malcolm Lowry Prize for Literary Essay 2002, now is working on a new book on Lowry. Lida is a newyorker and the writer of "Travel Advisory", a book with short stories set in Mexico. Ackerley is a scholar from New Zealand and the writer of "A companion to Under the Volcano" a book which let you completely without anymore doubts about Volcano, he is also the creator of the most complete site about Lowry.