Contemporary Basque Literature

Contemporary Basque Literature, edited by Jon Kortazar, brings together experts in the field to address six dimensions of the Basque literary system from 1975 to 2013: the novel, poetry, short story, children’s and young adult literature, dramatic literature, and the essay. This is an innovative work about a literary system: a structure of interacting components, from writers and the themes they explore in the works they create to the edifice of publishing houses, journals, and magazines that publish, market, and distribute them, the critics and university professors that review them, and the people who read them. These products may be novels, books of short stories, poetry collections, comic books, picture books, theatrical productions, or essays. The text also addresses key related issues that are essential to understanding the multifaceted Basque literary system. These include the revival of the Basque language, so long subdued by the Franco regime, the establishment of a specifically Basque educational and media structure after 1975, and the importance of translation.