«Spanish literature has been absent in Germany in recent years», assures the author of ‘Patria’ I. «Who speaks of the irrelevance of Spanish letters, is practicing self-flagellation»
«I watch television, I visit bookstores, I feel the presence of Spanish literature or Spanish cinema in today’s German culture. And I notice that there has been an apparent absence in recent years ». Says Fernando Aramburu (San Sebastián, 63 years old), a resident of Germany for three decades and a privileged spectator of our literary presence in the country and at the Frankfurt Fair, the most important in the world and where 80% of the rights.
“It was rare, compared to previous decades, to see a Spanish author in a shop window, at a table with novelties or best-selling books, but I think the fault is not Spanish literature,” says the author of ” Patria’ in the Spanish pavilion, the heart of the 74th edition of the fair, with Spain as host country, in which Cultuur has invested 12 million euros under the slogan ‘Overflowing creative’.
“There is a problem in the transmission chain that needs to be improved. Something has to be done, I don’t know exactly what, because I am not a bookseller, nor a subsidy provider, nor a politician. Especially so that the poor and unhappy German readers discover what they miss with our literature’, says the writer from San Sebastián hours before the big fair opened to the general public. Bringing together 4,000 exhibitors from 95 countries, it aims to surpass the numbers of the still-pandemic 2021, with more than 36,000 professionals from 105 countries and nearly 38,000 visitors from 85 countries. It presents more than 300,000 news items and is covered by 2,500 informants from 40 countries.
“I really like the motto we come to Frankfurt with,” says Aramburu. “I know it’s a bit cocky, a bit optimistic. But we don’t come here with an inferiority complex. We don’t come as a second-class country. I think we believe we have something valuable to offer others.” An offer that is substantiated in this edition by 200 authors and 400 editors and a program that has exceeded 300 translations.
“There are Spanish authors in German bookstores, but I find that you have to search for them or order their books, and whoever enters a bookstore to look for a book doesn’t spend three hours searching. He gets carried away with what is most visible or most present,” says Aramburu, who doesn’t believe there is a translation problem, “although it wouldn’t hurt to help the translators more.”
“I think we have to break through that glass wall somehow. And this fair is a unique opportunity for that,” he says. “They’re not going to invite us as a country of honor next year. We’ll have to wait another three or four decades,” he says ironically.
However, he believes that anyone who speaks of the “irrelevance” of Spanish letters is exaggerating. “Whoever says it is practicing self-flagellation. We have that temperament that blames ourselves,” laments the writer. “The reality is it’s widely published, and in many countries, and there are probably other languages that are less translated than Spanish, so nagging won’t help us much,” he says.
He also congratulates himself on the “enormous” young talent he finds in Spain. “Obviously there’s a generation of young writers, and especially female writers, who are really interesting. They have a lot to say, and they say it in their own way, and that’s very odd,” he says.
“I read everything I can from people much younger than me, and I do it with the selfish intention of learning from them,” he says, referring to the latest novels by Pilar Adón or Isabel Bono and praising Irene Vallejo — headliner of the delegation of Spanish at the fair – whom I just met and whose essay, ‘Infinity in a Junco’, fascinated me». «Life abroad encourages me to feel the pulse of what is happening in Spain and not to remain completely displaced. That psychological drive drives me to read to young people,” he confesses.
Does reality look better from a certain distance when one is outside? “I’m not sure if the Spanish reality is better seen from the outside, but clearly it’s seen differently,” argues the author of ‘The fish of bitterness’. “I can’t make comparisons because I don’t live in Spain and I don’t know what I would see if I lived there. But I do know, for example, how the German press judges what is happening in Spain. In a natural way I am prompted to see the conflicts and the Spanish political cocoa with a certain calm. I also can’t react quickly and I have the perspective of the chess player, who sees all the pieces from the outside, maybe with a smaller size, but I understand the game in general and the tendencies.
Aramburu was a complete stranger in Germany, but everything changed with ‘Patria’. «Here they only translate my novels, which have the greatest commercial output. Five novels have been translated for me, but I was very lucky with ‘Patria’. It opened all doors for me and there was even a dispute between German publishers to publish the book. Something that had never happened to me,” he boasts.
«Now I have a permanent editor in Germany. He is waiting for my next book and it is very nice for me. Here I have a large circle of friends who do not speak Spanish and who can finally read something from me. The attention of the press is increasing and I have become a minor celebrity in my city, in Hanover, where I have been on the front page of the newspaper and where they are proud of an international writer,” he concludes.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
