Salvador Espriu – författare

Salvador Espriu was born in 1913. A member of the so-called generation of ‘36—those who were in their twenties at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War—Espriu became a voluntary exile in his own land. Writing in a forbidden language, hyperconscious of his historical moment, he took upon himself the task of saving Catalan for his people. In this bilingual edition, with a preface by the translator and an introduction by Francesca Vallverdú, Espriu’s friend and Spanish publisher, Magda Bogin has given us a glimpse into a remarkable body of poetry from a poet whose literary stature in Spain is akin to that o William Carlos Williams and T. S. Eliot in the English speaking world.

One of the defining texts of twentieth-century Catalan fiction, written by one of its most innovative and cherished writers, Salvador Espriu''s Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth is a collection of thirty-four short stories in which the twists and turns of action, character, and place are as winding and sumptuous as the legendary maze of its title. Originally published in 1935 in the midst of great countrywide political and social upheaval, these stories are a mirror, a grotesque mirror, held up to Catalan and Spanish society. Infused with a deep sense of mythic power, blending social realism with lush modernist experiment, Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth is a triumph of style. Perhaps best known for his poetry, Espriu''s rich lyricism and highly evocative use of the Catalan language are here brought to life in the poet Rowan Ricardo Phillips''s remarkable English language translation of a classic of world literature.

Espriu mostra aquí la seva particular visió de la identitat nacional catalana tot recorrent diferents indrets dels Països Catalans. Al pròleg, l''especialista en la poesia de Salvador Espriu, Rosa Delor, explica la mirada nacional del poeta així com també dilucida la simbologia que s''amaga dins aquesta prosa poètica.

En "La piel de toro" (1960), un libro icónico para la literatura en lengua catalana, Salvador Espriu se propuso demostrar que no era cierta la tesis de Ortega de que España solo podía pensarse desde el prisma de Castilla. Con él, el poeta quiso expresar "un modo más generoso y abierto" de entenderla, uno que se pusiera en marcha desde sus periferias geográficas e históricas y que contribuyese a la regeneración de una reflexión pública que la dictadura había hecho todo lo posible por cortar de cuajo. En este sentido, la trascendencia de algunos de sus poemas da muestra de la gran resonancia que tuvo entre sus numerosos lectores, que hoy siguen encontrando en ellos un llamado al diálogo y una defensa de la libertad.

One of the defining texts of twentieth-century Catalan fiction, written by one of its most innovative and cherished writers, Salvador Espriu's "Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth" is a collection of thirty-four short stories in which the twists and turns of action, character, and place are as winding and sumptuous as the legendary maze of its title. Originally published in 1935 in the midst of great countrywide political and social upheaval, these stories are a mirror, a grotesque mirror, held up to Catalan and Spanish society. Infused with a deep sense of mythic power, blending social realism with lush modernist experiment, " Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth" is a triumph of style. Perhaps best known for his poetry, Espriu's rich lyricism and highly evocative use of the Catalan language are here brought to life in the poet Rowan Ricardo Phillips's remarkable English-language translation of a classic of world literature.