Catalan Literature After the Civil War and Enric Valor

Sociopolitical Context and Post-War Narrative

The literature of war (1939) was heavily influenced by the Franco regime. Our language ceased to be official, and the progress achieved during the Republic was abolished: the language disappeared from public view, administration, and teaching, and was forced back underground. Despite the lack of infrastructure, the 1950s saw the appearance of the novel Uncertain Glory (Incerta glòria) by Joan Sales. This work, which was censored, recounts the experiences of war from the viewpoint of the vanquished and won the Joanot Martorell prize.

During the 1960s and 1970s, with the dictatorship already consolidated, a certain permissiveness emerged. Although the atmosphere remained contrary to normalization, great storytellers appeared with works of social criticism. It is worth mentioning, on one hand, the rural themes and customs of Enric Valor in The Ambition of Alexius (L'ambició d'Aleix). On the other hand, science fiction and fantasy emerged with Manuel de Pedrolo and his Typescript of the Second Origin (Mecanoscrit del segon origen).

From exile, we see works like Mercè Rodoreda's The Time of the Doves (La plaça del Diamant) and Pere Calders' Subtle Invasion and Other Stories (Invasió subtil i altres contes). In the search for lost time, Llorenç Villalonga wrote Bearn o la sala de les nines.

The Literary Legacy of Enric Valor

The literary value of Enric Valor (Castalla, 1911-2000) is characterized by a rich vocabulary and elegant phrasing. His works narrate the perfection of social life in the south of Valencia, from the late nineteenth century to the outbreak of the Civil War (1936-39). He describes nature in a realistic way, without lyricism, serving as a background to the human struggle to survive day to day.

His first novel was The Ambition of Alexius (1960), but his most important work is the Cycle of Cassana (Cicle de Cassana), which consists of three novels:

• Not the Promised Land (Sense la terra promesa, 1980)
• Time of Harvest (Temps de batuda, 1983)
• Beyond the Horizon (Enllà de l'horitzó, 1991)

This trilogy represents a recovery of collective memory from 1916 to 1939. Valor recalls his youth and the destruction of a social class without hiding conflicts and tensions. His most famous works are the Valencian Tales (Rondalles valencianes, 1950-1958), which collect and provide a literary form to folk tales from Valencia prior to 1936.

He also stands out as a lexicographer dedicated to the diffusion of Valencian-Catalan grammar. His contributions to improving the language include Millorem el llenguatge (1971), a grammar course referring to the Catalan of Valencia (1973), and The Verb Inflections (La flexió verbal, 1983), among others.