Paul Spalding-Mulcock, Features Writer

… Nothing Worth Discussing Is Ever Straightforward ! Exploring Catalan Literature - Part Four

Discussing the notion of a ‘literary canon’, irrespective of the language forming it, is beset with problematic issues. Broadly, a literary canon may be understood to be a collection of works deemed to be exceptionally important, influential, and definitive. Derived from the Greek word for measuring rod, or standard, books said to be canonical are considered to be those of essential worth and set the standard by which all other works are measured.

According to the New York Times, ‘Canons have traditionally been determined by an elite group of scholars and critics who embraced a work of art and sent it aloft to some deifying realm’. In 1994, the American literary critic Harold Bloom published The Western Canon in which he named twenty-six, ‘immortal authors’, including Homer, William Shakespeare and Virginia Woolf. His book sparked a great deal of debate, especially about who determines what literature is worthy of canonisation!

cq[His book sparked a great deal of debate, especially about who determines what literature is worthy of canonisation!]Exercising enormous sway over English literary criticism until his death in 1978, F.R. Leavis’s The Great Tradition venerates a small cadre of ‘great English novelists’ whilst disparaging the efforts of others. Happy to anoint the likes of Jane Austen, George Elliot, Henry James, Joseph Conrad, Edgar Allen Poe and Herman Melville, he leaves Dickens out of the ‘Great Tradition’, believing, ‘That Dickens was a great genius and is permanently among the classics is certain. But the genius was that of a great entertainer, and he had for the most part no profounder responsibility as a creative artist than this description suggests.’

I’m certainly not bold or bright enough to casually argue with the judgement of either Bloom or Leavis, but it’s not unreasonable to approach the notion of a literary canon without some care. With that prudent thought in mind, I asked Tiago Miller for his thoughts on the Catalan literary canon…

It’s hard not to buy a load of them each time I step foot in there because it’s a phenomenal list that also serves as a fantastic reference
“Ah, this is a great question because it raises the important debate of who makes the canon, whether it’s supposed objectivity is valid, and whether we need to pay any attention to it at all. The closest thing we have to an official Catalan canon is the 1978-1981 series Les millors obres de la literatura catalane (The Greatest works of Catalan Literature) compiled by the prominent literary critic Joaquim Molas and published by the most important publishing house in Catalonia and a bank – all very establishment stuff.

Each book was published with a distinct, minimalist cover, and there’s a second-hand bookshop near me that has piles and piles of these yellowing editions. It’s hard not to buy a load of them each time I step foot in there because it’s a phenomenal list that also serves as a fantastic reference, even if only as a starting point for a more detailed journey into certain ‘canonical’ authors. However, given it only runs until 1981, there are probably only one or two people on that list who are even still alive and it obviously doesn’t take into account the last forty years.”

cq[But a homosexual junkie writing dirty prose and singing like Lou Reed who died of AIDS, has pretty long odds to make the canon...]So, if the Catalan literary ‘canon’ does not reflect the work of authors writing over the last four decades, this led me to ask Tiago for his thoughts on what needs to be done, and what challenges might be encountered.

“It urgently needs updating. Nevertheless, once again, we return to the question of who makes the canon? For example, in my opinion, one author who should feature on any Catalan canon is the poet, painter and musician Pepe Sales, not just because of his wonderful work but also because he represents an important era of Catalan art and literature.

His uncle was Joan Sales (the famous author), his nephew is Martí Sales (musician, poet and translator), and his niece Maria Bohigas (editor of the publishing house Club Editor), so he’s also an important link in the history of Catalan letters. But a homosexual junkie writing dirty prose and singing like Lou Reed who died of AIDS, has pretty long odds to make the canon, so being ‘canonical’ means something else apart from quality. It represents an establishment view of literature and therefore can only serve as a useful reference. It certainly doesn’t represent the totality of literature.”

Having discussed the Catalan literary canon, I wanted to know how much of it is accessible in translation…

“If we take a cursory look at the original Molas list, then we see that many of these canonical works have indeed been translated: from Ausiès March, Ramon Llull and Bernat Metge, to Jacint Verdaguer, Narcis Oller and Salvador Espriu, to Montserrat Roig, Mercè Rodoreda and the aforementioned Joan Sales, among many others.

Nevertheless, it’s very hit and miss. A number of translations of canonical authors are out of print, were done perhaps as part of some academic’s PhD and published by an obscure university press, or perhaps are still available, but deserve a revision and a new edition. But publishing Catalan literature – from the point of view of translators and editors – isn’t as easy as looking at this list, or any other, and picking a book or author yet to be translated into English and saying, ‘this one’.

What clicks with a Catalan readership might not with an English-language one, as such translators have to think carefully when pitching work. We have to constantly ask ourselves how an author’s work will fit into English-language literary biodiversity, (for want of a less pretentious term) and why it would be relevant to readers.”

I might get cut to shreds for this, but I honestly believe that most Catalan literature getting published in English is banal at best.
Given this perhaps variegated approach to the publishing of Catalan literature in translation, I asked Tiago to describe the consequences of this, and offer me his thoughts upon a possible remedy…

“If we’ve ended up with a seemingly random translation of the canon, it’s because there’s never been a systematic approach to the endeavour. I remember reading a journalist whose name I can’t remember saying that there was a pressing need to agree on an updated Catalan canon and make sure that each of the books were always in print, available in every public library, and translated into English. This, however, needs to come from the very top and cannot be the responsibility of individual translators and editors.

However, there are a plethora of writers and independent publishers putting out high-quality literature in Catalan in a variety of styles
To do something like this goes against market forces and therefore would require institutional funding. But it’s a project that interests me greatly and I think it’s important that it’s done, otherwise we’ll end up with canonical works going out of print, and a continuation of the imbalance that we currently have in which the entire works of certain authors are available in English, while others are still completely unknown.

I might get cut to shreds for this, but I honestly believe that most Catalan literature getting published in English is banal at best. Publishers and translators seem to be opting for the safe, the tried and tested, while there is so much going on in contemporary Catalan literature that is truly exciting. If you judge a book by its commercial value, then your view of literature is skewed.”

So, having explored the thorny stem of all things canonical, I wanted to glean Tiago’s thoughts on contemporary Catalan literature:

“Catalan literature finds itself in a healthy position at a time when the Catalan language is losing speakers at a worrying rate due to incessant attacks by successive Spanish governments and being a minority language in a globalised world. However, there are a plethora of writers and independent publishers putting out high-quality literature in Catalan in a variety of styles from the auto-fiction of Adrià Pujol, the postmodernism of Borja Bagunyà, and the modern-musing of Marta Rojals.

You only have to look at the books shortlisted for recent literary awards to see the variety on offer: the historical fiction of Joan-Luís Luís and Jordi Cussà, the rural gothic of Núria Bendicho and Ferran Garcia, the poetic prose of Roser Cabré-Verdiell and Joan Todó. There’s a lot going on and much of it is happening on the margins of the mainstream, which is exciting, but also frustrating at times.”

In the next two instalments of our series, we’ll explore the work of four authors who hold a special place in Tiago’s heart, beginning with Maria-Mercè Marçal and Dolors Miquel. Readers can expect a warm and insightful exploration of their work, and learn why Tiago considers these books to be mesmerising literary gems.