Thoughts of a common Basque writer (1)

First of all, it has been a great honor for me to have my book published by a publisher from the French Basque Country.

Editors who travel from fair to fair, like rhapsodes in ancient Greece, are constantly spreading our Basque culture. This is a truly wonderful and useful thing for the survival of our culture.

With lack of answer or a 'confused style' or 'out of line' kind of answer being so common , it is worth celebrating to receive an affirmative response from publishers. And meanwhile, writers don't know what to do with their work. Just following the writing force that resides within him. Just maintaining his 'conatus' as Spinoza would say, or maintaining his 'élan vital', in Bergson's words or as Mogel wrote :' each one is given life by their own madness'.

Although, to be honest, publishing has never been easy. Two notable examples to clarify this. Proust financed the publication of his first work out of his own pocket and Joyce had to tell all his troubles to an American woman who owned a bookstore in Paris in order to get Ulysses published.

Even the writers themselves don't know whether their book will be included in the classic category or not.. Apart from Goethe or García Márquez, we should go to the graves of other classic writers and say: Congratulations, writer, your work has become a classic!

Although we would probably receive Shakespeare's epitaph as an answer:’ Blest be the man that spares these stones, but cursed be he that moves my bones’.

Some books that are now classics were known at the time for different characteristics. Don Quixote was a humorous book for its contemporaries. Today, only a trace of that humor is visible, as far as I know. Don Quixote sends Sancho to Dulcinea's house with a letter, saying that he has gone mad with love for her. In order to be able to swear it, Sancho asked for proof that he was insane. Quixote, wearing only a nightgown, made a couple of jumps, revealing his 'family jewels'. And Sancho set out for Dulcinea, knowing that Quixote was mad and could swear it to her without a doubt.

Joannes Klaberia wrote in the 17th century:

‘I'm making fun of Garibay.

And also of Etxabe,

Because they spoke

in Spanish about the Basques’.

It's not easy to resist the charm of the empire. The tendency to ignore Basque literature still persists among us. Those in power see no need to revive Basque literature; it seems to be better for them to leave it aside. But, while they leave Basque literature behind, they work to promote literature in other languages. The empire, first Spanish or French, now North American, is like a giant wave and In the face of this, we need something, beyond good words, to keep our Basque ship afloat.

There are also different perspectives on the language. In 1908, Isaak Lopez-Mendizabal from Tolosa spoke out against the relative clause of the "zein" (what/which/who)family, which he found unacceptable. But French Basque Country writers, of the school of Sara , had been using this type of relative clause for almost three hundred years. Impossible become real by action. The writer must navigate these changing and often turbulent seas.

The contribution of translators to the world of literature is significant. Many classic works have yet to be translated into Basque. We have many excellent translators. Recently, Matias Mujika, sailing on the wave of dactylic hexametric meter, translated the Odyssey into verse. Writers and translators work together to spread our language.

Finally, I would like to mention one goal. Spanish writer Tirso de Molina wrote: ‘A Basque, short in words but long in actions’. Let's see if we can change that trend somewhere and become long on both.

Thus, what Axular said to the virtuous reader, applying to the Basque language: ’ Having weathered all the storms of the seas of this world, you will finally arrive safe and sound in a secure port’.

 

(1) I had written this for the presentation of my book ‘Harrapatzen bazaitu, harrapatzen bazaitu’ (Zortziko Publishing) for the Sara Book Fair. We were both at that fair, my fellow sufferer Asier Ansoleaga with his new work (‘Behintzat betirako gogoratuko dut Gasteizen’ - Zortziko Publishing), and me. And in front of us ,to our right, was the Hera Olympian goddess of Basque Literature: Itxaro Borda.