About Robert Rahula
Robert Rahula is virtually unknown outside of his native Spain where he has published more than 30 novels and books of poetry and essays over the last 50 years. Born in Barcelona in 1946, he was raised in the United States by his paternal grandparents, but returned to Spain in 1960. He lives on the island of Menorca but travels to the United States and South America each winter to give a series of lectures and poetry readings sponsored by the La Sociedad de los Poetas Renegados. Within the Spanish literary world, he is acclaimed as the founder of the “Portilla” school of writers – a style that interweaves graphic sexual detail, existential philosophy, and intricate dreamlike plots. While many of his early books in Spanish are now out of print, his later works are being brought to a wider world market thanks to the beautiful English translations by Joseph Wambatten, his editor and friend.
A Modest Summation of Things is the story of an old man who is given only one afternoon to write an accounting of his entire life.
50 Years Down the Drain is the preeminent anthology of Robert’s poetic writings, an extraordinary collection of 222 poems, personally selected by his lifelong translator and friend Joseph Wambatten.
To Die in Toledo is the dark and humorous story of a man who wakes up dead, only to find that life goes on exactly the same after you die, except that you are dead.
Behind the Pearly Gates is a collection of pointed stories about what really goes on in Heaven, the truth behind all the gossip and scandals.
Messieurs is Robert Rahula’s first book to be published outside of Europe. It consists of 3 interrelated stories, each told by a different man, each telling the same story, but from a different sexual perspective. Currently still banned in several eastern European countries, it is considered a ground-breaking work on the alienation of sexuality in the life of modern man.
Trigger Points is Robert’s first book of English poems, and explore Robert’s real-life relationship with Enid, the woman from Messieurs.
Inside The Locked Heart (Dentro Del Corazón Bloqueada) is Robert’s second book of English poems. In these sexually graphic poems that deal with love, loss, bisexuality, separateness, and aging, Robert continues to expand the boundaries of the Portilla style of writing.
Camino uses the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage to weave poems of sex and travel, life and death, as Robert continues to explore the boundaries of love and existence in the “Portilla” style.
Migration is a turning point in Robert’s poems. Written during his travels through Central and South America, these poems deal with the unique themes of the expatriate life.
I Sing the Body Politic is Robert's fifth and most political book of English poems, expanding the graphic erotic language of the “Portilla” style of poetry as he explores the sexual and political aspects of relationships in society.
Panamaniac is Robert’s second English novel, translated by famed translator Joseph Wambatten. Here, we pick up where Messieurs left off, as Ricardo leaves the United States and becomes an expatriate in Panama, seeking solace in sex and his writing.
Half Life is an English anthology of poems, short stories, and excerpts from Robert’s writings from 2005-2015. This is a great introduction to the “Portilla” style of erotic writing and its themes of unabashed sexuality, bisexuality, separation, and aging.
Island of Misfits is Joseph Wambatton’s excellent translation of the moral transformation of American expatriate Ricardo as he is caught up in a murder investigation in the small Panamanian town of Villa Rosario.
Day Another Paradise In shows Robert Rahula’s mastery of the magical realism of the “portilla” style of writing as he compresses past, present, and future destiny into one single day of a man’s life.
One Last Fling is the supernatural story of a 200+ year old Panamanian brujo, or sorcerer, and his fateful encounter with expat Ricardo.
Bathhouse Stories tells the story of a serial killer who hunts men in gay bathhouses. In this graphic novel, Robert weaves existential themes that link the victims, the killer, and the three policemen desperately trying to prevent another murder.
Wonderland is Robert’s sixth book of English poems and showcases both the darker and the more humorous side of portilla poetry on the subjects of death, polyamory, and the expatriate life.
Conversation in a Belgian Bar is the story of a chance encounter between a young American and an older man in an unnamed Belgian bar. Through a deceptively innocent conversation, the dark connection between the two men is revealed.
All the Yage in Reno follows the ex-detective and expat Dan Landes as he flees Panama after a brutal murder only to confront his past in Reno, Nevada.
From Whose Bourn is Robert’s seventh book of English poems, and presents a panoramic view of life as one approaches death.
Poemas Españoles is Robert’s first release of Spanish poems on Amazon. These are Spanish “portilla” poems in their true form.
Exigent Circumstances follows ex-detective and expat Dan Landes as returns to Central America to solve the mystery of a deadly biological weapon being smuggled through Panama.
The Essential Dan Landes is an anthology of the three best-known Dan Landes mysteries: Bathhouse Stories, All the Yage in Reno, and Exigent Circumstances.
Horror Stories for Children are 21 brand new dark and twisted short stories – definitely NOT for children.
Expat Poems is an anthology of expatriate poems selected from five of Robert’s books written between 2014 and 2017. These are poems of the wanderer, the outcast, immigrants, and nomads.
Uninvited Guests describes the life and death of Magali, the young prostitute in Villa Rosario, Panama, who was loved by many but understood by none.
All of Roberts books are available on Amazon and at fine bookstores everywhere.
Joseph Wambatten is well known in Europe as the literary translator of choice. Fluent in Spanish, French, Castilian, Portuguese, and English, he has translated over 140 novels, plays, and books of poetry for eminent authors. Joseph lives in Madrid with his wife and family, and is currently working on a project to translate all of Robert Rahula’s early works to bring them to the English-speaking world.