The article «Fronteres, invisibilitats i innovació en la literatura catalana contemporània. Un balanç provisional» highlights the term satellite culture, introduced by Joan Fuster in 1956, which refers to a culture written in one’s own language but which depends on a larger and more diffused one. That is to say, that is developed apart from an imposed or allowed one. This concept, in the 80’s, was applied by Professor Lluís Vicent Aracil to sociolinguistics and gave rise to “(linguistic) interposition”.

Josep Ballester, of the Department of Didactics of Language and Literature at the University of Valencia, emphasises that the introduction of the previous concepts allowed to describe some features of Catalan literature. In addition, “it leads us to the questioning about its future: what is the possibility of a minority language literature connecting and showing to others without being a delayed reflection of another literature with more weight?”, the specialist points out.

The publication in Romanesque Studies also highlights the problems Catalan literature is experiencing with regard to the scarce cultural policy of governments and institutions, since its function and support is essential to improve its situation. Ballester explains it this way: “In many respects the building needs more than a structural reform, not just a paint pass”.

According to Josep Ballester and Noelia Ibarra, also director and secretary of the research group of Reading, Literary, Linguistic Education, Culture and Society of the University of Valencia, the research aims to show the critical reality of Catalan literature and create awareness about the urgent need to abandon their invisibility situation. For that, they stress: “we must work hard at institutional levels and from governments, so that these facilitate their expansion in Spain as well as in other countries”.

Article:

Josep Ballester-Roca, Noelia Ibarra-Rius: «Fronteres, invisibilitats i innovació en la literatura catalana contemporània. Un balanç provisional» Estudis Romànics [Institut d’Estudis Catalans], Vol. 40 (2018), p. 367-379

DOI: 10.2436/20.2500.01.254