Dr. Gregory Rabassa enjoyed an occasion to discuss magical realist author Clarice Lispector in an appearance at the Center for Jewish History last Sunday. In an article in The New York Times books section, he is said to recall that "I was flabbergasted to meet that rare person who looked like Marlene Dietrich and wrote like Virginia Woolf." Rabassa is a living treasure; keep your eyes open for his memoir, If This Be Treason, which is due for release in April.

Sighted recently on MTV: A 13-second appearance in which Paulo Coelho of The Alchemist fame provides this voice-over?"The desert will give you an understanding of the world. How do I immerse myself in the desert? Listen to your heart"?while the sun sets over a pyramid in Egypt.

Author Anjali Banerjee's debut magical realist YA novel, Maya Running, has received accolades not only in the US, but raves in the old country (India) as well. MARGIN will be offering copies of Banerjee's wonderful book for sale at the AWP Bookfair in Vancouver BC March 30 through April 2. Make sure and drop by table #208 if you are attending the AWP conference and pick up a copy of Anjali's book!

From Playbill comes this heads up for magical realism fans regarding the line-up for the 35th anniversary season of the Manhattan Theatre Club's "Writers in Performance" series: "The 400th anniversary of Cervantes' Don Quixote will be celebrated April 4 in an evening titled The Don. Quixote, which is widely regarded as the world's first modern novel, will be interpreted by Mario Cantone, Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Daphne Rubin-Vega. Don Quixote translator Edith Grossman will introduce the evening, which will also feature a live score by Julie Lyonn Lieberman. ?The literary series is "dedicated to melding fiction, nonfiction and poetry with the stage in creative and provocative ways." The MTC's Stage I is located at 131 West 55th Street in Manhattan. Single-event tickets ($17.50) available at (212) 399-3030.