Literary Conversation, with Bernardo Atxaga
A literary conversation and reading by the most international Basque author, Bernardo Atxaga. The Basque writer Bernardo Atxaga will present one of his most beloved books, Desde el otro lado, at the Instituto Cervantes in Dublin, and will read from his most recent book, Exteriores del paraíso.
Desde el otro lado (Alfaguara, 2022) brings together four narratives by the author that seem to be told by voices emanating from nature itself. In this book pulses the best of Atxaga, who moves his readers with stories that tell a single story, ours. Alongside life, there is also room for the fantastic, for what happens in the margins that separate reality from dream, from hallucination, or from revelation.
Exteriores del paraíso (Cuatro lunas, 2023) is a peculiar book in which the reader will travel from melancholic narration to a poem that makes one laugh, from the tale of a unique public reading to an autobiographical note. Beyond its variety, it is a book with an orderly and clear structure that shares the same undercurrent: Love, Fear, and Death.
Bernardo Atxaga: Born in Asteasu in 1951, his real name is Jose Irazu. Among his notable works are Obabakoak, Lone Man, The Accordionist's Son (Grinzane Cavour Award and Mondello Prize), Seven Houses in France, Nevada Days, Water Over Stones, Desde el otro lado, and Exteriores del paraíso. He has received numerous awards including the Basque Prize (1989); National Prize for Narrative (1989); Marsh Award (2015); National Prize for Spanish Literature (2019); LIBER Award (2021); Ostana Prize (2023). His work has been adapted into film and theatre and is available in 36 languages. He has been a member of the Academy of the Basque Language since 2006.
Mercedes Carbayo Abengózar is a lecturer in Spanish and Latin American Studies at Maynooth University. She carries out research within Hispanic Cultural Studies mainly on the intersection between gender and class with a particular interest in motherhood. She has published on Carmen Martín Gaite, Concha Piquer and lately on the use of graphic narratives to discuss social/feminist issues.
