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Writer Andrés Neuman talks in La Nau about María Moliner and her legacy
- University Culture Service
- Maria Magdalena Ruiz Brox
- November 5th, 2025
Andrés Neuman. Foto: Rafa Martín.
The Argentinean-Spanish writer Andrés Neuman will feature in a colloquium at the Universitat de València on Thursday, 6 November at 7:00pm, in the Sala Capella de la Sapiència of the Centre Cultural La Nau. This meeting, organised by the Literature Society of the UV, counts on the collaboration of the Valencian government (Generalitat Valenciana) and Alfaguara editorial. The conversation concerns the publication of his most recent book, Hasta que empieza a brillar. (Until it starts to shine). María Moliner y la aventura de escribir un diccionario (María Moliner and the adventure of writing a dictionary) The event will be presented by Cristina, head of the classroom and professor of the UV.
In this novel, Neuman approaches the figure of a key woman in the history of the Spanish language, María Moliner, author of the famous Diccionario de uso del español and reconstructs, in between research and fiction, the story of a woman who made words a form of resistance. The book explores the reasons that led Moliner to start, as an adult and during the Franco dictatorship, writing her monumental dictionary; a project almost lonely that also can be read as an undercover autobiography. Through episodes of her childhood, her work as a librarian during the Republic or her failed candidacy for the Royal Spanish Academy, Neuman outlines a reflection on memory, language and intellectual persistence in adverse contexts.
Andrés Neuman (Buenos Aires, 1977) grew up in Granada, where he studied Hispanic Studies and then became a Professor. His first novel, Bariloche, made him a finalist for the Herralde Prize when he was only 22 years old. His works include El viajero del siglo -Alfaguara Prize and Critics Prize-, Hablar solos y Fractura. He writes novels, poetry and essays, and his works have been translated to more than 25 languages, consolidating him as one of the best and most unique voices of contemporary literature in Spanish.
María Moliner and the Universitat de València
María Moliner (Zaragoza, 1900 - Madrid, 1981) had a strong relationship with the Universitat de València: she studied Philosophy and Letters (she graduated here in 1918) and led the university library during the Republic years and at the beginning of the Civil War. From her workplace, she promoted library modernisation and actively participated in cultural extension projects and the creation of public libraries. That Valencia era consolidated her commitment with education and the democratisation of knowledge, values that later will be seen in her lexicographical work.
Great voices of contemporary narrative at the UV
The Literature Society of the Universitat de València (UV), promoted by the Office of the Vice-Principal for Culture and Society, has consolidated as a privileged meeting space in between literature and social reflection for the university community and Valencian society. Each academic year, La Nau becomes a forum where all the great voices of contemporary narrative are brought together.
The programme for the academic year 2025-2026 has brought together some of the most renown names of current literature. The series inaugurated with the Argentinian writer Mariana Enríquez (23 September) and continued with Susana Fortes (31 October) and Andrés Neuman (6 November), while Javier Cercas will close the year with his participation on 5 December.
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