“Art is the mirror of the human truth, is the eye through which we observe the nature to understand it or, at least, to internalise it. And well: the role that Shakespeare played to shape, first the English and, by extension, through the weapons and the diffusion of his work, the Western man, is the same role that Josep Pla’s work has played in Catalonia.
Through which other writer do we feel Catalonia so strongly than through Josep Pla? He knew perfectly what he was playing at; how many times does he repeat that a writer must write for his tribe? Pla is a moralist in a Catalan way, focus on the defects and the virtues of the country. His universality is expressed through the values that have supported the country despite the defeats: the individualism, the pactism, the effort and the commercial spirit.
Is not there a Mr Steven (senyor Esteve) in Pla? His work, built during forty years of Franco’s dictatorship and censorship, is not the incarnation of that idiomatic expression which says that the Catalans make bread from the stones? A writer personifies a lively attitude through his literature. Does not the way to do of Pla connect with the prudent but tenacious and, sometimes, combative character of the Catalans?
The grace of Pla’s nationalism is that, being Catalan, works here and in China, and in any historical circumstance, because it needs neither tanks nor flags. His is a constructive nationalism, which lives and lets the people live, based in the small actions of the everyday life, which are the ones that make a country indestructible and prosperous. It is a nationalism that enrich the man on the basis of make him understand the importance of loving the country where he wants his children to live, with all that this entails of tribal solidarity and love to the tradition that has made it possible.
It does not seem to me foolish to say that Josep Pla is the Shakespeare of Catalonia”.
This is a home-made translation of an extract from El nostre heroi Josep Pla (Our hero Josep Pla) by Enric Vila. If you just understand English I’m sorry, this book is written in Catalan and is not translated into English yet. Be very patient. Or learn Catalan.
Through which other writer do we feel Catalonia so strongly than through Josep Pla? He knew perfectly what he was playing at; how many times does he repeat that a writer must write for his tribe? Pla is a moralist in a Catalan way, focus on the defects and the virtues of the country. His universality is expressed through the values that have supported the country despite the defeats: the individualism, the pactism, the effort and the commercial spirit.
Is not there a Mr Steven (senyor Esteve) in Pla? His work, built during forty years of Franco’s dictatorship and censorship, is not the incarnation of that idiomatic expression which says that the Catalans make bread from the stones? A writer personifies a lively attitude through his literature. Does not the way to do of Pla connect with the prudent but tenacious and, sometimes, combative character of the Catalans?
The grace of Pla’s nationalism is that, being Catalan, works here and in China, and in any historical circumstance, because it needs neither tanks nor flags. His is a constructive nationalism, which lives and lets the people live, based in the small actions of the everyday life, which are the ones that make a country indestructible and prosperous. It is a nationalism that enrich the man on the basis of make him understand the importance of loving the country where he wants his children to live, with all that this entails of tribal solidarity and love to the tradition that has made it possible.
It does not seem to me foolish to say that Josep Pla is the Shakespeare of Catalonia”.
This is a home-made translation of an extract from El nostre heroi Josep Pla (Our hero Josep Pla) by Enric Vila. If you just understand English I’m sorry, this book is written in Catalan and is not translated into English yet. Be very patient. Or learn Catalan.
I si els que saben anglès veuen alguna frase mal expressada (deu haver-hi unes quantes), que m’ho facin saber, si us plau, I need to improve my English! El fragment està a les pàgines 141-142.
3 comentarios:
Vaya señora traducción, muy bien Amanda, joder. Hay alguna cosilla, algún despiste como "it...enrich(es)" o un "for" en lugar de un "to" que se ha colado, pero casi casi como una native eh! si fueses mi alumna ya te digo que te comes a la clase con patatas.
Gracias profe!!! eso sí, sin diccionario no podría hacerlo..
see you soon, darling
L'anglès no ho sé, però el català sí que l'has de polir. "Deu haver-hi unes quantes" ha de ser "Deu haver-n'hi unes quantes" --i "El fragment està" és "El fragment és". No offense.
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