ITURBE, Arantxa

(Alegia, 1964)

"My name is Arantxa Iturbe. Before I knew what I wanted to be in my life, I knew what I wanted to do: I wanted to write. And with that aim in mind I did Media Studies at university, believing that that path would help me realise my dream of earning a living from writing. But on the way, I was seduced by radio. I wanted to tell stories rather than write them, and that's what I have been doing for years: telling stories into a microphone on a radio programmed.

Out of the blue, one day at the radio station a friend tempted me: "So, how about writing something?" I wrote every day, to tell stories, but not to leave the stories in written form. And from that day on I started writing, and still do.

Mostly, I write short stories. Perhaps because in them, I can combine my job with my passion. Maybe because when I tell a story I like it to be precise, quick, direct and short.

I have published a couple of short story collections (Ezer baino lehen, 1992 and Lehenago zen berandu, 1995) and a bitter chronicle of motherhood (Ai, Ama!, 1999) (1). And I haven't lost my taste for telling stories to those who are too lazy to read. It's finding the time that's difficult. Coming across it.

I tell stories so that someone will listen to them, and write them so someone will read them. But, even so, if I knew that no one listened to what I said or read what I wrote, that wouldn't make me alter my choice: I have hit the bull's eye with my job and my passion. My heart is satisfied. Not something that is easily done."

Arantxa Iturbe, one of the not quite 11% of Basque writers who are women, published lively short stories on love and the lack of it in her books Ezer baino lehen (1992, Before Anything Else) and Lehenago zen berandu (1995, Earlier Was Already Late). The principle characters are women, urban women living in today's media-infested and stressful society. Iturbe bases her spirited, spontaneous and colloquial stories on everyday life and on misunderstandings with men"

(Olaziregi, M.J., "Foreword", in An Antology of Basque Short Stories, Center for Basque Studies - University of Nevada, 2004).

Further information about the author:

To see the author's translated works, go to the List of Translations from Basque of this website.
The website of EIE (Basque writers' association).
Literaturaren zubitegia, in the website of "armiarma".

(1) English translations of Arantxa Iturbe's two short story collections are: Before anything else and It was late before. The title of her chronicle of motherhood is Oh, Mum!