ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies and examines several characteristics of pirate aesthetics, including “improper” forms of reproduction, anti-elitist access, cheapness, and the perception of the “fake” as real in its own way. Focusing on book production in the context of contemporary Argentine literature, the chapter begins by analyzing piracy in its relation to plagiarism and parody, using El Aleph engordado (The Fattened Aleph) as a clarifying example. The book was first published in 2009 by Pablo Katchadjian, who intercalated words to, or “fattened,” a famous short story by Jorge Luis Borges. In 2015, while Katchadjian was being formally charged with intellectual property (IP) fraud, an editor released a new edition of his book. The chapter examines this edition in terms of its materiality (its form, size, binding, etc.) and uses it as a springboard for a broader analysis of pirate aesthetics. Precisely because they are noticeably cheap and pirate, it argues, books like El Aleph engordado disrupt the abstract logic of commodity exchange and draw awareness to the fact that intellectual property rights (IPRs), brands, originals, and single authors are politically and economically motivated social forms that regulate our access to art and knowledge.
