Biography
Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín is one of the outstanding writers of his generation. A highly proficient narrator and poet, he has numerous publications in the fields of fiction, poetry and essay. His collection With Gunpowder and Magnolias (1976) is considered one of the most emblematic poetry collections of the last fifty years and is one of five books contained in the bilingual Galician-Spanish edition Fundamental Poetry: 1976-2005 (Calambur, 2011). His best-known works of fiction include the novel Brittany, Emeraldine (1987), which draws on the work of authors like Jack London, Gonzalo Torrente Ballester and Álvaro Cunqueiro, and the book of short stories Borderlands (1991). His work contains elements of magic realism and centres on his Marxist, nationalist beliefs. Modern conflicts (Fascist repression, Spanish centralism) are given mythical settings, and the Galician language is pushed to its limits in providing literary expression. His stature is such that he was put forward for the Nobel Prize by the Association of Galician-Language Writers.
Synopsis
Borderlands (200 pages) is Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín’s most recent story collection and it won him both the Galician and the Spanish Critics’ Prizes when it came out in 1991. The title in Galician, Arraianos, refers to the raia or line between Galicia and Portugal and could be a reference to border lands, people or stories. The book might be called Borders or Bordering. The quote at the beginning of the book by Portuguese philologist Manuel Rodrigues Lapa seems to indicate people.
Sample
September 15th
My dear Uncle,
In accordance with your instructions, I am writing to put you au fait with the details of my arrival in this district of Nigueiroá and, more precisely, in the small town of Lobosandaus, the seat not only of the district capital but also of the local school to which I have been appointed thanks to your paternal protection and munificence.
Portico of Galician Literature 