The author, born in Madrid, is a biologist and chose Galician as her literary language
The National Prize for Story traveled again to Galicia and for the second year in a row honors a work written in the language of Castelao. Marilar Aleixandre (Madrid in 1947) won the prize of 20,000 euros awarded by the Ministry of Culture with ‘As malas mulleres’ (Galaxia). It is “a unique historical novel about the prison situation of women in the 19th century” that already earned the Blanco Amor de Novela Award in 2020, with which Aleixandre, biology professor and academic, takes over from Xesús Fraga, last year’s winner.
The jury awarding the prize emphasized “the original hybrid structure” of ‘As malas mulleres’, written “with an admirable mastery of dialogue and language”. “Brilliantly reminisces in dialogue with the literary tradition,” he added.
«A chorus of female voices from different social classes introduces elements of popular poetry and oral culture. The author emphasizes inequalities and at the same time offers a hopeful view: the capacity of human beings for resilience and emancipation, and emphasizes the importance of sisterhood and involvement with others,” said the jury in its verdict.
We witness «an arduous and exciting journey through the last part of the 19th century, in a multi-voiced story, that of Sisca, aged 15, locked up because women do not own their bodies; those of women like Concepción Arenal, a prisoner; and Juana de Vega, crucial to understanding our history and that of the silent chorus of evil women, who sing cries of encounters with sexual predators,” their editors point out.
«The novel was written against forgetfulness, to restore the memory of the excluded, prisoners in the Galera prison, in A Coruña, in 1863. Attention to the excluded where Arenal and Juana de Vega, who are committed to the dignity of people, were pioneers. Al tiempo is a hymn to the role of books and reading to improve people’s lives, to give hope to the desperate,” they specify from the Galaxia label.
Marilar Aleixandre chose Galician as the language of creation. Narrator, poet and translator, in 1973 she obtained the chair of the Institute of Natural Sciences and went to Galicia, where she was professor of biology both in secondary education and at the University of Santiago de Compostela.
His professional life has developed around writing and teaching, teaching the subject of Science Didactics at the University of Santiago de Compostela.
Since 2017, he has been part of the Royal Galician Academy, where he entered with a speech ‘Voces termando da paisaxe galega’ (Voices in support of the Galician landscape). His first steps into the world of literature took place in the field of children’s and youth stories, where he was a finalist for the Merlin Award in 1986 with ‘O poeta do peneireiro’, and in 1987 with ‘A formiga coxa’. ‘Rúa Carbón’ , ‘Theory of chaos’ (Xerais Novel Award 2001), ‘Aexpedición do Pacífico’ and ‘A filla do Minotauro’ are his best-known novels. In 2006 he won the Caixanova Poetry Prize with the collection of poems ‘Mudanzas’.
He contributes to literary magazines such as ‘No’, ‘Luzes de Galiza’, ‘Festa da voz’, ‘Feros Corvos’, ‘El Signo del Gorrión’, ‘CLIJ’ and ‘Dorna’ and is a regular signature on the literary pages of ‘La Voice of Galicia’ and ‘O Correo’.
María José Gálvez Salvador, General Director of Books and the Promotion of Reading, chaired the jury consisting of:
Guillermo Rojo Sánchez, appointed by the Royal Spanish Academy.
Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo, by the Royal Galician Academy / Royal Galician Academy.
Look at Karmele Azkarate Villar, for the Royal Academy of the Basque Language / Euskaltzaindia.
Manuel Llanas Pont, by the Institute of Catalan Studies / Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Àngel Calpe Climent, by the Valencian Academy of Language / Valencian Academy of Language.
Francisco Florit Durán, for the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE).
María Luisa Etxenike Urbistondo, by the Spanish Association of Writers (ACE).
Fernando Larraz Elorriaga, by the Spanish Association of Literary Critics.
Carolina Fernandez Garcia; by the Federation of Journalists’ Associations of Spain (FAPE).
Isabel Ortega Sánchez, by the UNED Center for Gender Studies.
Margaryta Yakovenko Zhurabel, for the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
Jesús Antonio Fraga Sánchez, award-winning author in the 2021 call.
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.
