Exile on Benjamin Kunkel Street

For some reason, I always thought a “Self-imposed exile” was supposed to seem like a bad thing. Benjamin Kunkel proved me wrong.

Over at N+1, Mr. Kunkel’s dispatches from Argentina:

“Argentina is by no means the saddest country in the world, but it has often been felt to be the most tragic. A vast country, eighth largest in the world, endowed with a long coastline, the endless fertile plains of the pampas, a deep trove of mineral wealth, and torrents of fresh if muddy water, its bounty prompted the rather blasphemous fin-de-siècle boast Dios es argentino—God is Argentine—and for most of its history the republic has struck natives and new arrivals alike as teeming with potential wealth.”