Presentation of Bernardo Atxaga’s latest work in “1937 Lives and Bombs”
2012-05-03 ¦ Publications
Last week Bernardo Atxaga’s latest work, appearing in “1937 Lives and Bombs”, was published by BBK Foundation. The book presents four short stories, each by a different author, that put the reader in various Basque towns and show the devastation of the bombings that occurred in the spring of 1937. The book was presented in Guernica on April 25th, and in Eibar on April 27th. Atxaga was present at the presentation in Eibar, the town in which his story is set.
Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the bombings of several Basque towns (Guernica, Eibar, Durango and Bilbao, among others) in the spring of 1937, the BBK Foundation’s collection "Biscayan Topics" (Bizkaiko Gaiak) has published the short story collection "1937 Lives and Bombs".
The book contains four stories written by major writers on the literary scene: Bernardo Atxaga, José Fernández de la Sota, Miguel González San Martín and Ignacio Martínez de Pisón. Each story is set in a Basque town during the bombings of 1937.
Through literary fiction, readers experience the events that took place in the spring of 1937, forever marking the lives of the people on the ground in four different settings: Guernica, Bilbao, Eibar and the left bank of the Nervion river. The literary talent and creative force of these four authors bring to life four tales full of power and emotion.
Bernardo Atxaga’s story is set in the Gipuzkoan town of Eibar, a significant place for the writer as his mother lived there at the time of the bombings and witnessed the events that took place during the Civil War in this town known for the manufacture of armaments.
The book was presented in Bilbao on Tuesday, April 24th, in Guernica on Wednesday, April 25th, and in Eibar on Friday, April 27th, where Atxaga himself spoke about what the town and the bombings mean to him.
Atxaga’s short story "Izaskun is in Eibar" ("Izaskun está en Eibar") tells the story of a woman whose life spans the whole of the 20th century and for whom the events of 1937 are just another milestone in her long journey through life.