SARRIONANDIA, Joseba

(1958 - )

"Graduate in Basque Philology, contributor to many journals, translator, associate member of the Basque Academy, co-founder of the literary group POTT Banda, Joseba Sarrionandia was imprisoned for being a member of ETA from 1980 until his escape in 1985. There are few writers who, in addition to the usual genres (poetry, narrative, essay), have published as many innovative hybrid texts as Sarrionandia. Among his books of fiction, philosophy and literary criticism, Ni ez naiz hemengoa (1985, I am Not of Here), Marginalia (1988) and Ez gara geure baitakoak (1989, We are Not of Ourselves) , Han izanik hona naiz (1992, Having Been There, Here I Am) and Hitzen ondoeza (1997, The Malaise of Words) stand out; his translations include T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, F. Pessoa's O Marinheiro and S. T. Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Sarrionandia has shown himself to be a tireless traveler in literary geographies, an ancient mariner dazzled by an ocean of ideas. Narrazioak (1983, Narrations), Atabala eta euria (1986, The Drum and the Rain) and Ifar Aldeko orduak (1991, Northern Times) are his best known books of short stories. English-speaking readers can read and listen to his charming anthology of poems and letters in the book Hau da ene ondasun guzia (1999, This is all I Have)".

(M. J. Olaziregi (compiler), An Anthology of Basque Short Stories, Center for Basque Studies, 2004).

"In 1983, the successful Narrazioak was published, Joseba Sarrionandia's first book of short stories. In poetic prose of enticing images and metaphors, the author shows his fondness for fantasy and ancient legends; the reader will find sirens and ancient mariners (betraying Sarrionandia's fascination with Coleridge and Melville), characters who do homage to the legend of King Arthur: Queen Ginebra, Sir Galahad... solitary stopping-points, and a meditation on literature, in other words, metaliterature. The reader will find one of the ancient mariners of Narrazioak in this anthology, as well as in the short-short stories from Han izanik hona naiz (1992, Having Been There, Here I Am). In the latter, the hybridity that is characteristic of Sarrionandia's work is evident, as is his desire to break through the restrictions of the genre. Putting a new spin on stories taken from both the literary and oral traditions, playing with black humor and irony, Sarrionandia in his short stories brings to mind the supershort texts of writers like A. Monterroso."

(M. J. Olaziregi (compiler), "Introduction", in An Anthology of Basque Short Stories, Center for Basque Studies, 2004).

"It was late on Thursday evening when we met up for the first time with Joseba Sarrionandia, strolling along the bank of the Nervion river from Deusto University to Barrenkale Barrena in the Old Quarter. I remember the night very well. The autumnal darkness caused a strange beauty to settle on that scrambled-up, black'n'white Bilbao, along that wharf which still maintains its dockside appearance.

A couple of days before I had known that Joseba Sarrionandia was the name of that sociology student we called "bildotsa" ("lamb"). What I did not realise was that he was actually the writer who we had wanted to meet, the author of well-written articles in Zeruko Argia. Straightaway, I explained, as best I could, our plans to him, that we would have to have a meeting and he immediately responded in the affirmative. And so, that Thursday, as we made our way down to Zazpi Kale, we chatted; we would have to get some literary leaflets out; it would be useful to have weekly meetings; we would call the group, rather, the band "Pott" and that same night he would get to know the rest of the crowd. We got to Iñaki's bar where Bernardo Atxaga, Joxemari Iturralde and Jon Juaristi were waiting. That conversation was the spark that gave rise to those fertile Thursday night meetings. That following Thursday it was Joseba who brought Manu Erzilla along and thus, a series of debates, workshops and dinners arose: different people around one game. Around one task. With the sincerity of those who had nothing to lose, we declared to each other: "Against consumerism... creation!".

Many years have flowed by and the "Pinillos Line" wharf has gone transformed into that emblem, the Guggenheim Museum. No longer is Iñaki serving up those hearty meals of his. The Thursday evening meetings have gone. We can't get to see Sarri.

For many people from that period things have not been easy but Sarri's way ahead took him away from daily life and to writing. And here we haveseveral chapters for a biography: a revolutionary activist who translated T.S. Eliot into Basque. Social commitment. Armed struggle. Years in prison. Fugitive from prison. (The mind which has been to prison/to prison always returns). Exile and displaced person without a country. And, above all, a creative writer. Creation"

(Ruper Ordorika, "Atarikoa" (Foreword), in Sarrionandia, J., Hau da ene ondasun guzia (This is All I Have), Txalaparta, Tafalla, 18).

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".
You can also find some poetry by Sarrionandia in the Basque poetry portal and in the website of the publishing house Susa.