[dropcap letter="N"]
ot always are we aware of the cultural and humanistic richness that being a literary capital represents for Barcelona, both in Catalan and Spanish. Our city not only hosts the headquarters of one of the world's great publishing groups, Planeta, and the Spanish headquarters of the Random House group (both groups integrate important formerly independent imprints conceived in the Catalan capital), but our unique orthogonal grid houses the headquarters of dozens of independent publishers such as Anagrama, L'Altra Editorial, Libros del Asteroide, Página Indómita, Comanegra, Salamandra, Plataforma Editorial or Acantilado among many others. Each with its specific profile and unique catalog, the soul of every publishing house.
The latter, Acantilado, is responsible, among other things, for reminding us from time to time of the importance of reading the classics: Montaigne, Seneca, Lord Chesterfield, G.K. Chesterton or Shaftesbury are just some of the many masters edited by the Barcelona imprint, outstanding for its meticulously cared-for editions. A catalog endowed with great personality that includes the works of great figures of modern literature such as Georges Simenon or Stefan Zweig. The imprint, created by Jaume Vallcorba and continued today with the same culture and values by Sandra Ollo, is closely linked to the idea of high culture, to the best tradition of European literature and, increasingly, to the broad "realm of knowledge" with the incorporation of more and more essays covering different branches of knowledge: from physics and mathematics, to history and philosophy. A thematic variation that reinforces the house's vocation for European and Renaissance humanism.
It would be smarter to recognize that classics never return because they are always there. To read the classics is to read about ourselves, about our undulating nature, to which Montaigne referred, and which perhaps poetry is the only one capable of capturing.This healthily Renaissance spirit is reinforced with the incorporation into the catalog of a new translation of the ComedyofDante Alighieri (1265-1321), with translation by the professor of literatureJosé María Micó(Barcelona, 1961). A translation of Dante's verses -written from exile- that aims to offer a close and at the same time faithful version. Translating poetry is always an ambitious undertaking, even more so when it comes to stanzas as widely read and known as those of the Florentine author. Micó has opted for a translation that tries not to distort the original poetic language, respecting the internal structure of the work sewn from the well-known hendecasyllabic tercets and without obsessing over rhyme. In this way, the narrative maintains its "Dantesque" style without the need to resort to footnotes.
Dante's incunabulum has achieved the purpose for which it was written: to endure, to overcome the barrier of time that wears everything away. Everything, except the classics, to which each generation is destined to return again and again. Why return to Dante? Why return to the classics? It would surely be more intelligent to recognize that the classics never return because they are always there. Reading the classics is reading about ourselves, about our undulating nature, to which Montaigne referred, and which perhaps poetry is the only one capable of capturing.
In his verses, Dante traces the complex contours of the human condition. Approaching the Comedy -approaching any classic- is approaching life. Dante reveals to the reader the hardships and injustices to which men are subjected on Earth, and also reminds him that there is always room for salvation; a salvation that the author always associates with great acuity to the individual. The reading of the successive cantos through hell, purgatory and paradise reminds us how our existence is hard but always harbors hope.
For Micó, the Comedy is the zenith of perfection in European literature of the time: an example of a work with a closed, perfectly planned structure, where there is also space for humor. A book that emphasizes the meaning and strength of human imagination that can do anything. Through the different concentric circles of Dante's work run the different archetypes of the human condition, being, as happens with Cervantes' Don Quixote, a powerful ethical and moral manual. As Micó pointed out during the presentation of the book, we are all represented in Dante's verses, where by speaking of his own experience he manages to capture the essences of all human experience.
The edition has also been conceived along the same lines of bringing the reading of the Comedy closer and making it accessible. That is why the publisher has opted for a compact edition using fine paper – the book almost looks like a missal – of the highest quality, which allows incorporating the 14,233 hendecasyllables of the work into a single volume; a manageable edition, designed for reading, not for contemplation in a bookstore. Micó's translation has emphasized making the story accessible to any reader, which allows for a cleaner reading without footnotes, but does include a useful list of the work's characters, a chronological axis of Dante's life, as well as a brief introduction to each of the parts. A luxury edition for an eternal work that delves into the human soul and makes us explore those corners of our fragile and volatile condition by nature, which we can only access hand in hand with the masters of literature.
Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free
Stay informed with the latest news.