Joseba Sarrionandia

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Sarrionandia.
Joseba Sarrionandia
Born (1958-04-13) April 13, 1958
Iurreta, Basque Country
Pen name Sarri
Occupation
Language Basque
Alma mater University of Deusto
Notable awards
  • Ignacio Aldekoa Prize (1980)
  • Resurreccion Maria Azkue Prize (1980)
  • Bilbao City Council Prize (1980)
  • Spanish Literature critics', Basque Narrative Prize (1986 and 2001)
  • Euskadi Prize for Essay in Basque (2011)

Joseba Sarrionandia Uribelarrea (Iurreta, Biscay, April 13, 1958 – ) is a Basque writer. He has written many books of poetry and short stories as well as novels. He was member of the Basque separatist group ETA. In 1985 he escaped from prison and since then has lived in secret as he continues writing.

Biography

He earned a Basque Philology PhD from the University of Deusto, Bilbao and started working as a Basque language teacher. He taught phonetics in the Bergara center of the UNED and also in the Udako Euskal Unibertsitatea and wrote pieces for Zeruko Argia, Anaitasuna, Jakin and Oh Euzkadi magazines.[1] He started the Pott Banda group along with Bernardo Atxaga, Manu Ertzilla, Ruper Ordorika, Jon Juaristi and Joxemari Iturralde. He also created the Ibaizabal magazine. He worked with short narrations and also translated books, notably Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

In 1980, while a member of ETA he was arrested by Spanish police and sentenced to 22 years in prison. Since then the realities of prison have appeared in his writings. In 1985 on San Fermin day (July 7) he escaped from prison with Iñaki Pikabea as there was a concert in the jail with Basque singer Imanol Larzabal. They hid themselves inside a loudspeaker.[2] The Basque radical rock group Kortatu created the song Sarri, Sarri in honor of this. The escape was planned with theater critic Mikel Albisu, who would become the leader of ETA. During three months, the two fugitives and Antza were hiding in a flat in San Sebastián, before moving to France.[1]

Since that day he has lived in secret and the topic of banishment/exile is foremost in his writing. In his novel Lagun Izoztua (in Basque The Frozen Friend) he writes about banishment. He has written books and poems which have been sung by different Basque singers as Jexuxmai Lopetegi, Mikel Laboa, Ruper Ordorika and Fermin Muguruza. There is also an audio book called Hau da ene ondasun guzia with his voice reading poems and many songs performed by different singers.

On 3 October 2011, the Basque government gave him the Euskadi Prize for Essay in Basque for his work Moroak gara behelaino artean? (Are we Moors in the fog?) on the miseries of colonialism, withholding the prize money of 18,000 euros until the author's status is resolved.[3][4] On the same day, judges and lawyers interviewed by Cadena SER confirmed that Sarrionandia could not be prosecuted by Spanish law, as more than 20 years had passed since his original prison sentence and his escape. While terrorist acts have no time limit, the provision applies only if there was at least one victim.[5] After a month and a half, the Spanish High Court confirmed to the Basque government that Sarrionandia was "clean", with no criminal or civil liability. The prize amount was given to his family.[6]

According to Spanish counter-terrorism sources, the writer has been hiding in Cuba. In 2014, he accepted the invitation of Mondragon University to give two lectures in Eskoriatza. It would have been his first public appearance since his escape in 1985.[7] However, he cancelled the trip because he did not obtain the traveling permissions he needed.[8] Even though the Cuban government has not acknowledged his presence, El Mundo reported in 2015 that Sarrionandia went to the Spanish consulate to regulate his status.[9]

Bernardo Atxaga divided Sarrionandia's works in four distinct chronological phases. In the first phase, a young Sarrionandia wanted to be a part of Basque literature through a literary magazine. In the second phase, the imprisoned poet talked about suffering (La literatura y la revolución). In the third phase, after his escape, his themes were exile and homeland (Geografía, He llegado a casa casi a medianoche). In the current phase, "the brightest of them all," Sarrionandia is more serene, with a sense of humor and irony. Atxaga speculates on a fifth phase, based on the poem La vida ha llegado y tiene tus ojos, where the "life that has arrived" could be a child.[10]

Works

Translations

He has translated books by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner), Constantine P. Cavafy, T. S. Eliot, Manuel Bandeira, Fernando Pessoa (Marinela), Marcel Schwob (La Croisade des enfants), Dolf Verroen (Slaaf kindje slaaf) and various literary works of fifty different languages.

Prizes and recognition

One of his poems

Esklabu erremintaria
Sartaldeko oihanetan gatibaturik
Erromara ekarri zinduten, esklabua,
erremintari ofizioa eman zizuten
eta kateak egiten dituzu.
Labetik ateratzen duzun burdin goria
nahieran molda zenezake,
ezpatak egin ditzakezu
zure herritarrek kateak hauts deitzaten,
baina zuk, esklabu horrek,
kateak egiten dituzu, kate gehiago.
Joseba Sarrionandia

The blacksmith slave
Captive in the rainforests of the West
they brought you to Rome, slave,
they gave you the blacksmith work
and you make chains.
The red iron that you carry out the oven
can be adapted as you want,
you can make swords
in order that your people could break the chains,
but you, this slave,
you make chains, more chains.
Joseba Sarrionandia

Translation source

References

  1. 1 2 "El Gobierno vasco retiene el Premio Euskadi de Ensayo a Sarrionandia por su pasado etarra" (in Spanish). El Correo. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Javier García (8 July 1985). "Dos 'etarras' lograron fugarse de la carcel de Martutene escondidos en aparatos de megafonía tras un recital" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Borja Hermoso (3 October 2011). "Controvertido Premio Euskadi de ensayo para Joseba Sarrionandia" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Manuel Tabernas (10 June 2013). ""La paz supone la renuncia a imponer relaciones de poder"" (in Spanish). Diagonal. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Javier Alvarez (3 October 2011). "Los delitos de Joseba Sarrionandia han prescrito" (in Spanish). Cadena SER. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Inaki Esteban (11 November 2011). "Los jueces afirman que Sarrionandia está 'limpio' y la familia recoge hoy el premio" (in Spanish). Diario Vasco. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  7. ↑ Vasco Press (10 July 2014). "Joseba Sarrionandia regresará de Cuba para ofrecer dos charlas en Gipuzkoa" (in Spanish). El Diario Vasco. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "Sarrionandia no podrá asistir a los cursos de Mondragon Unibertsitatea" (in Spanish). EITB. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Ángeles Escrivá (28 February 2015). "España pide la extradición de dos históricos etarras a Cuba" (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  10. ↑ Leyre Eguskiza (3 June 2015). "Atxaga defiende que a Sarrionandia se le encuentra en la poesía de su vida" (in Spanish). Deia. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
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