Rui Zink

Rui Zink, a well known writer from Lisbon, Portugal, will be at JU next week. He will be giving a public talk on the 14th at 10.30am in the Professor Anita Banerjee Memorial Hall on the ground floor of the UG Arts Building. Everyone's invited.

He is a professor at the New University of Lisbon, and is the author of Hotel Lusitano (1987), Apocalips Nau (1966), The Substitute (1999) and The Surfers (2001), Color (1988) and Spider-Men (1994), "The Anibaleitor" (2006). He has also scripted a number of comic books. His works are surreal and edgy, and deal with the harsh tragicomedy of modern life. For instance, in The Substitute, an overweight sports jounralist runs a young boy over in his car, devastating the boy's family. The grandfather vows revenge, and spraypaints graffiti on the journalist's car. Joined by other crumblies from his local pub, he realises his vocation is to fight crime. Pretty soon the whole city is in terror of the 'graffiti gang'. I don't think this has been translated into English, but it sounds like the Simpsons directed by Tarantino.

He will also be conducting a one and half day workshop in creative writing for the students of the university. Two or three places are still left.