The Basque literature in Spanish during the 20th century.

Abstract

A century ago, during the period known as the “turn of the century,” witnessed a flourishing of Basque narrative in Spanish. Prior to this, the only notable “Basque” novel found was “Amaya, or the Basques in the 8th century” (1879) by the journalist and politician Francisco Navarro Villoslada. This novel holds a romantic character. Amaya attempts to compose a sort of epic song of the Basque people, with a highly explicit political foundation, as it argues that “the Spanish soul is Basque-Navarrese, as this was the group that populated Castile.” To this novel, one should add the anecdotal and idealized tales of Antonio Trueba (1819-1889): “Popular Tales of Vizcaya,” “Peasant Tales," and "Rosy Tales” (excerpt from an article).