Catalan Literature Research Articles

The Staging of Ciudad Juárez’s Feminicides: Àlex Rigola and Angélica Liddell Speak for the Victims

Tackling violence against women in the theatre is often a controversial matter. To identify the ethical risks that victim representation may entail, we conduct a comparative analysis of two works about Ciudad Juárez’s feminicides staged in Barcelona: 2666 (2007), an adaptation of Roberto Bolaño’s novel directed by Àlex Rigola, and House of Strength (2011) by Angélica Liddell. This article argues that while Rigola reduces victims to mere sexual objects with no narrative of their own, Liddell places the voice and resilience of Mexicans in the foreground and represents their bodies respectfully. Adriana Nicolau is completing her doctoral studies on ‘Feminisms in contemporary Catalan theatre’ at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) in Barcelona. Her publications include articles for Feminismo/s. Teresa Iribarren is an assistant professor at UOC, where she is the Director of the Catalan Literature, Publishing, and Society research group. Her current research focuses on narratives of violence and the promotion of human rights in literature.

The Classical Tradition in Medieval Catalan, 1300–1500: Translation, Imitation, and Literacy by Lluís Cabré et al

Reviewed by: The Classical Tradition in Medieval Catalan, 1300–1500: Translation, Imitation, and Literacy by Lluís Cabré et al John Dagenais Keywords history of the language, Historical Romance, Old Spanish, medieval Castilian, materialist hermeneutics, history of the book, translation, material culture, novela sentimental, Cárcel de amor, Catalan Literature, Crown of Aragon, Occitan, Spanish Empire, poetry, Classical Reception, Dante, Mediterranean Studies, Food Studies, Galen, ballads, María de Zayas, Aljamiado, Mudéjar, pilgrimage Cabré, Lluís, Alejandro Coroleu, Montserrat Ferrer, Albert Lloret, and Josep Pujol. The Classical Tradition in Medieval Catalan, 1300–1500: Translation, Imitation, and Literacy. Tamesis, 2018. ISBN: 978-1-85566-322-0. The past forty years have seen an unprecedented effort by scholars in the Catalan-speaking areas of the Iberian Peninsula to advance the knowledge of medieval letters in those areas, a project already well under way in the early years of the last century, but interrupted by the Spanish Civil War and the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The authors of the present study begin by linking this volume back to Antoni Rubió i Lluch’s El renacimiento clásico en la literatura catalana (1889) and offer the fruits of post-Franco research in what they present as the first monograph on the topic of the classical tradition in medieval Catalan letters since the publication of Rubió i Lluch’s work. They define this classical tradition as consisting of “translations (both extant and lost) of classical texts, works from the Italian Renaissance (from Dante to Leon Battista Alberti), and works by major medieval authors who contributed to the transmission of classical material” (x). The importance of translation and imitation in the formation of medieval Catalan letters can scarcely be exaggerated, and translation and imitation stemming from these three traditions is of particular weight and interest. The three areas just outlined have fairly flexible borders. This study avoids rigid classifications and often strays—always in interesting ways—outside these borders. One might see the result as a sort of general survey of medieval Catalan letters viewed through the lens of translations and adaptations of the classics. This volume is part of a recent effort to bring the fruits of new research, hitherto chiefly published in Catalan, to a larger, international audience through publications in English. As the authors state, “the aim of the study in this volume is to disseminate this knowledge [of the classical tradition in medieval Catalan] in a language that can reach the international community of students and scholars interested both in the endurance of classical literature and in the history of medieval literature in Romance languages” (x). It is important to keep this goal of outreach toward a prospective English-language readership in mind when it comes to understanding some of the choices that the authors made in putting together this volume. [End Page 192] The book is divided into two parts. The first part contains a chapter on the “Historical Background,” followed by chapters on “Literacy: Translations and Royal Patronage,” “Imitation: The Classical Tradition in the Works of Five Major Authors,” and “Printing: Humanism and Renaissance.” The second part consists of a “Catalogue of Translations to 1500.” The volume includes three maps: “The Catalan-Speaking Territories,” “The Dominions of Alfonso the Magnanimous (1442–58),” and “The Crown of Aragon and its Area of Influence in Occitania before the Battle of Muret (12 September 1213).” The book has two appendices: “Italian Renaissance: Printed Editions, 1473–1535” and “Rulers of the Crown of Aragon, 1137–1516.” There is an index to proper names (or titles of anonymous works) of individuals mentioned in the study and a thorough bibliography. The first chapter of Part I is written keeping in mind the prospective readership of students and scholars unfamiliar with the history of early Catalonia and the medieval Crown of Aragon as well as with the pan-Mediterranean presence of the Catalan language in that period. On this latter point, they venture well into the twentieth century and the fate of Catalan under the Franco dictatorship. This is a clear and concise exposition of these matters. I would certainly recommend this chapter to students and colleagues interested in getting quickly up to speed on the...

Forging Communities: Food and Representation in Medieval and Early Modern Southwestern Europe ed. by Montserrat Piera

Reviewed by: Forging Communities: Food and Representation in Medieval and Early Modern Southwestern Europe ed. by Montserrat Piera Michael O’Brien Keywords history of the language, Historical Romance, Old Spanish, medieval Castilian, materialist hermeneutics, history of the book, translation, material culture, novela sentimental, Cárcel de amor, Catalan Literature, Crown of Aragon, Occitan, Spanish Empire, poetry, Classical Reception, Dante, Mediterranean Studies, Food Studies, Galen, ballads, María de Zayas, Aljamiado, Mudéjar, pilgrimage Piera, Montserrat, editor. Forging Communities: Food and Representation in Medieval and Early Modern Southwestern Europe. U of Arkansas P, 2018. ISBN: 978-1-68226-068-5. Forging Communities contains thirteen chapters by multiple authors, including an introduction and postscript by the editor, Montserrat Piera. The work is divided into three distinct sections: “Part I: Connections and Transitions in Muslim, Hebrew, and Christian Communities” (chapters 1–4), “Part II: Food Choices: Ideals and Practices in Monastic and Lay Communities” (chapters 5–9), and “Part III: Food as Fetish: Gendering Sexual Desire through Food” (chapters 10–13). In chapter 1, “From Kitāb al-tabīj to the Llibre de Sent Soví: Continuities and Shifts in the Earliest Iberian Cooking Manuals,” Carolyn A. Nadeau compares the anonymous fourteenth-century Catalan cookbook, Llibre de Sent Soví, with two Arabic-language culinary treatises written during the thirteenth-century’s Almohad Dynasty. Specifically, the author examines the Sent Soví’s connections with the anonymous Kitāb al-ṭabīkh fī al-Maghrib wa al-Andalus fī ʻaṣr al-Mawahḥidīn [The Book of Cooking in Maghreb and Andalus in the Era of Almohads] and Muḥammad Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī’s Fuḍālat al-ḫuwān fī ṭaiyibāt aṭ-ṭaʻām wa’l-alwān [The Delicacies of the Table and the Finest of Foods and Dishes]. Nadeau’s argument is twofold. She first highlights a common thread linking all three texts by identifying what she labels as “narrative bridges” or stylistic commonalities, such as “passion,” “authority,” and “awareness of the reader” (21–28). The author then moves on to a discussion of the continuation and cessation of the use of certain foods, herbs, and spices to elucidate a “culinary contact zone” which existed between Christians and Muslims in medieval Iberia (29). Chapter 2, “Food and Death: Foodways and Communities in the Danza general de la muerte,” considers the inclusion of food as social commentary within the anonymous Danza general de la muerte. Michelle M. Hamilton and María Morrás provide an in-depth analysis of the work’s characters and their association with multiple food items. This includes an examination of the archbishop, the physician, the priest, the laborer, and the alfaquí, and whether they properly obtained or utilized the food which was at their disposal. The authors convincingly demonstrate that food is not only deployed in the Danza general to indicate status, class, and profession, but also to make certain moral [End Page 196] arguments as well. The authors view “the imagery of food and consumption as symbolic equivalences of the moral-philosophical dilemma that is at the crux of the work, namely the conception of life and death and the way people choose to navigate each” (36). In chapter 3, “‘Los que comedes mi pan:’ Food References in the Romancero,” Hilary Pomeroy examines the appearance of food in multiple Iberian ballads, reminding us that certain food acts “communicated an encoded message readily understood by ballad singer and audience alike” (56). Pomeroy asserts that the intentional inclusion of food in certain ballads could immediately evoke information about status, concerns about sieges, and even hint at upcoming plot developments. Furthermore, the examples provided demonstrate that this semiotic value of food can be found in ballads depicting people of multiple faiths. Chapter 4, “Magical Morsels: Food in Morisco Aljamiado Incantations,” examines the role of food in the spells and incantations of two anonymous manuscripts written in Aljamiado between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries on the Iberian Peninsula. Veronica Menaldi shows that spells, primarily used by women, had multiple purposes ranging from improved memory to finding love, but also helped to disguise and preserve certain Islamic traditions under the guise of quotidian food practices. These magical...

The historical background of Catalan separatism: The case of Occitania

Abstract The purpose of this study is to discuss the originality of the Catalan literature at its beginnings in relation to the poetry of the Occitan troubadours, and to explain why some Catalans today do not feel connected to the Castilian heritage. The paper presents the Occitan-Catalan political and cultural relations in the time between 993 and 1213, with particular emphasis on the 12th century when the Great Occitan War took place. The historical Occitania at that time was divided into numerous principalities affected by constant internal struggles. That unstable political situation encouraged powerful neighbours – as the rulers from the House of Barcelona – to attain their domination over the region. The successful military and diplomatic engagements of the Catalan sovereigns allowed them to create a relatively homogeneoas Occitan-Catalan community based on cultural similarity and feudal dependence.

THEMATIC AND STRUCTURAL PARALLELS OF UKRAINIAN AND CATALYTIC PROSE

The typical and recurring structural components of the prose of Merce Rodoroda, the classic of the Catalan literature of the XX century, are considered. Their role in creating the national coloring of the novel is determined. A comparative analysis of the poetic peculiarities of Merce Rodoreda’s prose with the structure of some works of Ukrainian prose is carried out. The comparative aspect of the new Ukrainian and Catalan prose, which has in-depth general features, is by now unexplored. The problem of the ratio of universal and original in art is developed over considerable time in a different genre and methodological planes. And if, for example, the Irish component in the British literature has been studied quite thoroughly, then the national peculiarities of Ukrainian and Catalan literatures have been studied less than the mentioned one. At the same time, a comparative analysis of the differences between literature in Ukrainian and Russian and in Catalan and Castilian can be indicative. Historically, the literature was developed in very similar conditions: both sought to merge with the European context, and both experienced a strong gravitation (and often political opposition) of the Russian and Castilian states. The discovery of separate laws of interaction between Catalan and Castilian literatures will allow a better understanding of the laws of the national literature development. The article shows peculiar structural components of the prose, which with a great deal of probability will form the national originality of any European novel.

The Internationalization of the Catalan Novel The Case of Pedra de tartera by Maria Barbal and its Reception within the German Speaking Countries

This article analyses the translation and reception within the German speaking countries of Maria Barbal’s novel Pedra de tartera (Stone in a Landslide). The article focuses on two main issues: on the one hand, external factors that determine the projection abroad not only of Maria Barbal’s work, but more generally of Catalan literature; on the other hand, literary factors that define the novel’s reception abroad. For the first set of factors, this study describes the role played in this process by the Institut Ramon Llull, several publishing houses, literary agencies and international book fairs. For the second set of factors, it analyses the reaction of academia, literary criticism and the media, and, equally important, the opinion of Heike Nottebaum, German translator of the book, and Rainer Nitsche German publisher.

The Internationalization of the Catalan Novel The Case of Pedra de tartera by Maria Barbal and its Reception within the German Speaking Countries

This article analyses the translation and reception within the German speaking countries of Maria Barbal’s novel Pedra de tartera (Stone in a Landslide). The article focuses on two main issues: on the one hand, external factors that determine the projection abroad not only of Maria Barbal’s work, but more generally of Catalan literature; on the other hand, literary factors that define the novel’s reception abroad. For the first set of factors, this study describes the role played in this process by the Institut Ramon Llull, several publishing houses, literary agencies and international book fairs. For the second set of factors, it analyses the reaction of academia, literary criticism and the media, and, equally important, the opinion of Heike Nottebaum, German translator of the book, and Rainer Nitsche German publisher.

Osobnost překladatele Jana Schejbala a jeho vliv na recepci katalánsky psané literatury u nás

The article introduces the most important Czech Catalanist, who has been introducing Catalan literature to Czech audiences for nearly half of a century. The case of Jan Schejbal confirms that the role of the translator cannot be reduced to transferring text from one language to another: they must actively participate in the literary exchange, often being the key figure. The personal contribution of the translator seems to be even more indispensable when literary enrichment between minor and/or medium cultures is concerned. In this sense, the work Schejbal did within the publishing house Odeon during the 1970s and 1980s was absolutely essential, as he was the only one who translated from this Romance language whose literature was practically unknown in what was then Czechoslovakia. However, this privileged position in forming Czech notions about Catalan literature ended with the downfall of Odeon, which occurred shortly after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989. Despite the initial adversity he faced from the new commercial publishing houses, Jan Schejbal remained faithful to his longstanding ambition and continued to spread quality literature written in Catalan. Thanks to Prague’s lectorat de catala, founded in 1991, nowaday known as the Centre Carlemany de Llengua Catalana, a new field of action opened for him: he has been introducing students of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague to the culture and literature of the Catalan-speaking countries and, within a translation workshop, trains his successors. Also Schejbal’s life-long work on the very first Catalan-Czech and Czech-Catalan academic dictionary, about to be published, deserves special mention. This feat, among others, confirms again that the translator’s activity is more transcendental than it might seem. With the dictionary, Schejbal not only contributes significantly to the quality of future translations but also enables the reception of Catalan literature without the necessity of indirect translations via Spanish.

Joan F. Mira: «Des de la finestra veig Europa»

Joan F. Mira is one of the key figures in contemporary Catalan culture. Because of his many interests (anthropologist, translator and author in different genres) he is not easily classified. In the manner of T.S. Eliot, Mira has managed to tie his output with the great classical works of Catalan literature and that of Europe. His interests, strictu sensu, stretch from a microcosm located in his hometown in Valencia’s Horta, to the great European cities – and cultures far beyond – which he has visited during his life-long journey either physically or with his readings. This article seeks to offer an approach to strategies employed by Mira, including cultural anthropology or his narrative’s hybridity, to incorporate into his discourse spaces he has mapped during his life or by extension, those of his country. Methodology is based on a geocritical approach applied to literary studies (Bou, Marqués, Salvador, Tally, Westphal), with a transversal and multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of the work of Joan Francesc Mira.

Joan F. Mira: «Des de la finestra veig Europa»

Joan F. Mira is one of the key figures in contemporary Catalan culture. Because of his many interests (anthropologist, translator and author in different genres) he is not easily classified. In the manner of T.S. Eliot, Mira has managed to tie his output with the great classical works of Catalan literature and that of Europe. His interests, strictu sensu, stretch from a microcosm located in his hometown in Valencia’s Horta, to the great European cities – and cultures far beyond – which he has visited during his life-long journey either physically or with his readings. This article seeks to offer an approach to strategies employed by Mira, including cultural anthropology or his narrative’s hybridity, to incorporate into his discourse spaces he has mapped during his life or by extension, those of his country. Methodology is based on a geocritical approach applied to literary studies (Bou, Marqués, Salvador, Tally, Westphal), with a transversal and multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of the work of Joan Francesc Mira.

“I AIXÍ, VIVINT EN TA IDEA”: LA POESIA A GILETA DE FRANCESC FONTANELLA A LA LLUM DEL NEOPLATONISME

The influence of Neo-Platonism in Catalan literature is still a field to be studied. This article focuses on how this philosophy affects Francesc Fontanella’s poems to Gileta. The link between the giletes and Neo-Platonism is not a trivial connection because it affects the whole poem, how the relationship is described and the structure of the narrative, including the language and images chosen. In some poems, Francesc Fontanella reproduces the unaltered philosophical theory, but sometimes he forces the sense of the Neoplatonic theory into the verses in order to favour the poetic game. In conclusion, Fontanella proves to be a writer who knows the philosophical currents in vogue at that time and, moreover, he is able to apply them in a very particular way to his poetry, giving it a high level of conceptualism and complexity, just the opposite of the labels of ingenuity and simplicity that have accompanied the giletes throughout the twentieth century.

La cultura catalana a Itàlia: el cas de Cesare Giardini.

This paper looks at aspects of the life and work of the Italian Catalanophile Cesare Giardini (Bologna 1893–Milan 1970) up until the 1930s. Giardini’s initial activity as an actor afforded him the chance to travel to Barcelona in 1912 with the theatre company of the great Italian actress Lyda Borelli. During the month that Giardini spent in Barcelona, he was able to get in touch with a number of representatives of Catalan culture despite his considerable youth. In the 1920s, he began working with the Milan publishing firm Edizioni Alpi, which published Italian translations of Catalan works, such as The Catalan Nationality by Enric Prat de la Riba (1924). Giardini’s efforts to disseminate Catalan literature also involved his publication of a large number of articles in various newspapers and magazines throughout his long career. In 1926, he put out an anthology of Catalan poets through the publishing firm of Piero Gobetti (Edizioni del Baretti) and this anthology would be reprinted in 1950 with few changes.

Translating Vicent Andrés Estellés into Italian On the Occasion of the First Bilingual Anthology

This article addresses Vicent Andrés Estellés’ poetry, its importance among modern Catalan literature and some main problems of transmission. For this purpose, it evaluates the effects of La gioia della strada (2016), an anthology of his poems translated into Italian. Some translational challenges are studied linked to the passage from Catalan to Italian and, in particular, to Estellés’s poetry (tone, metric, repetitions). Some Estellés’ compositions are analysed in both versions and it concludes with a critical assessment.

Translating Vicent Andrés Estellés into Italian On the Occasion of the First Bilingual Anthology

This article addresses Vicent Andrés Estellés’ poetry, its importance among modern Catalan literature and some main problems of transmission. For this purpose, it evaluates the effects of La gioia della strada (2016), an anthology of his poems translated into Italian. Some translational challenges are studied linked to the passage from Catalan to Italian and, in particular, to Estellés’s poetry (tone, metric, repetitions). Some Estellés’ compositions are analysed in both versions and it concludes with a critical assessment.

Peter Constantine interviews Lawrence Venuti

Lawrence Venuti is a leading translator of modern Italian and Catalan literature and internationally one of the most influential theorists in the field of literary translation. In their recent interview, Peter Constantine asked him about his craft and theory of translation.

Antoni MARTÍ MONTERDE y Teresa ROSELL NICOLÁS, eds., "Comparatistes sense comparatisme. La literatura comparada a Catalunya". Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, 2018, 316 pp.


 
 
 
 Esta reseña presenta el último volumen publicado por el grupo de investigación «Literatura Comparada en l’Espai Intel·lectual Europeu» titulado Comparatistes sense comparatisme. La literatura comparada a Catalunya. Parte de la novedosa colección «Figura», editada por el mismo grupo de investigación, esta es una obra de conjunto (realizada por especialistas de las más destacadas facultades catalanas y de universidades nacionales e internacionales y materializada en dos simposios) que focaliza sus esfuerzos en analizar la Literatura Comparada en Catalunya y la anómala posición que ocupan los escritores en relación a esta. Esta reseña centra su atención en el contenido de estos simposios (así como en la propuesta del grupo de investigación y la colección) prestando especial atención a los debates de propuesta metodológica que albergan; la figura del intelectual europeo, las perspectivas intelectuales de la Literatura Comparada o los precedentes de la Weltliteratur. Todo ello bajo el prisma de la literatura catalana como objeto privilegiado de estudio para repensarse a sí misma y para problematizar y modificar el espacio literario e intelectual europeos
 
 
 

Espacialitat i construcció d'identitats en la literatura

Summary: The article studies the new conception of space (spatiality) as a sociodiscursive construction and the application of this notion in literature. The meaning of place is distinguished from those of landscape, territory and abstract space. The concepts of geocriticism (Bertrand Westphal), heterotopia (Michel Foucault) and chronotope (Mikhail Bakhtin) are used to explain the functions of spatiality (Robert Tally) in literature. After referring to various studies on the literary representation of places like the house, the sanatorium or the environment of death, this paper concludes with an analysis of the movie theaters in Catalan literature and, especially, in the poetry of Vicent Andrés Estellés (1924–1993). Keywords: Spatial turn, spatiality, heterotopia, chronotope, movie theaters, Vicent Andrés Estellés

Globalització i identitat: alguns apunts en la narrativa catalana actual

Summary: We address aspects of globalization in current Catalan literature and try to see how it affects it: does the Catalan writer take into account a reader from outside the linguistic domain? Does globalization influence the theme of the works? And also the categories of space and time? Have aspects of this reality been dealt with in some works? Is the presence of foreign population, both European and from other continents, reflected in the Catalan, Majorcan and Valencian societies today? To develop these questions, we will analyze works by Sánchez-Pinyol, Joan Benesiu, Carles Casajuana, Melcior Comes, Najat El Hachmi, Pius Alibek, Jovi Lozano, and Francesc Serés. Keywords: Globalization, universal literature, transnational literature, deterritorialization, multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, national writer, foreigner, identity, ethnicity

"Com si cap literatura exterior existís": formes de la identitat en l'obra de creació de J. V. Foix

Summary: Based on the premise that all the poetic terroir of Foix is credited for the «principle of identity» that the poet of Sarrià explained in various ways throughout his work, this article tries to make a first approach to the ways that this principle, a main idea of Foix’s thought, crosses the work of the poet, through the explanation and the exemplification of some of the literary procedures that testify this identity. Keywords: Identity, contemporary Catalan literature, J. V. Foix

Una aproximació a la memorialística femenina catalana

Autobiographical literature in recent years has attracted increasing interest, thanks to the symbiosis between literature and reality that gives shape to it. The aim of this article is to approach new developments in Catalan women autobiographical literature, covering from the first instances, the epistles by Estefania de Requesens, from the sixteenth century, until Maria-Mercè Marçal’s posthumous diary, of 2014. Disease and proximity of death are devices used by writers to start autobiographical projects. Childhood, old age or memory recovery are other reasons why female authors venture in a previously patriarchal domain.