Letters to the director with Espriu de fons

Salvador Espriu, the national poet of Catalonia, answered all the letters he received, and there were quite a few. "The correspondence alone overwhelms me," he told me, and then added with his usual touch of irony: "Formally [the letters] are impeccable, because what I really know how to do is write letters; I am a madam "de Sévigné", in reference to the 17th century French writer, author of more than a thousand letters collected in the volume CardsI have read two collections of Espriu's letters and I can confirm the level, also related to the intellectual quality of his interlocutors: professors Antoni Comas, of Catalan language and literature, and Felip Cid, of the history of medicine.

One of the recurring communications the Readers' Ombudsman receives concerns the letters to the editor, which are published from Easter to Palm Sunday: 95 were received in June, and recently only six have been published, spaced out on widely spaced days (June 21, July 5, and July 27, with two per delivery). Núria Vilaclara sent me a letter in which she clearly explains the issue:

"Last June I wrote two letters that I wanted to address to the director of the ARA, of which I am a subscriber. Finally, both were published. The Vanguard, a newspaper to which my husband subscribes.

Reason: It was super easy to send a letter to the editor of LV for eventual publication. I immediately found the email address to which I could send it.

At this time, I still haven't found the email address to which I can send a letter to the director of ARA.

Since I was reading the newspaper today and easily found his email address, I wrote to him to "explain my case" and ask for the email address to which I could send a letter.

Nice to meet you and thank you for your response in advance."

The subscriber raises two self-replicating problems: that we publish few letters, and that she doesn't know where to direct them, which is logical considering that the rules only appear when they come out, not every day.

It is Toni Güell who answers my request on the subject:

"Letters to the editor are an element strongly conditioned by some of the phenomena that the press has experienced in recent years. On the one hand, and as we commented in a previous article in the Reader's Advocate, the participation of readers, like the world of communication in general, has experienced a process of digital migration that has increased comments on the web, and that has madecartas@ara.catis very uneven, with months in which it revives (especially thanks to a handful of very loyal readers) and others in which it declines significantly. It has become more sporadic, in a dynamic that the newspaper is monitoring as part of its overall reflection on how to channel and facilitate reader participation. Publish them or divert them, when appropriate, to the corresponding sections.

Letters to the editor have a long history behind them and even a record holder; the great journalist Antoni Coll mentioned them a few days ago in the Tarragona Diary: Enrique Stuyck, Guinness record holder with seven thousand letters. In the history of what is a genre as journalistic as it was literary, there has been everything, from the height of history and award-winning signatures, to the amusing philosophical banality, which became famous in The Vanguard, about whether socks should be plain or diamond-patterned. The letter elevates readers to the status of columnists—hence their assignment to the Opinion sections—it transcends the concise commentary of the website and provides an interesting insight into the reality beyond the walls of the journalistic profession and its routines. In some cases, the letter also serves as a right of reply, which is admittedly rarely exercised, and when the issues are of social significance, it raises public awareness, if not prompts authorities to react.

In my section of last March 1st, to which the head of Opinion refers, based on a communication from reader Joaquim Simon, this Ombudsman encouraged the ARA to maintain the letters to the editor "as a protected species, as all species in danger of extinction that link grammar and syntax to semias should be protected. short "digital". I therefore maintain this desideratum, that at least on days with more pages the newspaper gives the maximum possible output to readers who do nothing but what we do: write an article in the format that the conventions of journalism have recognized. Letters to the editor are popular journalism that, in the country of Salvador Espriu, we should be able to afford.

CATULUS IN CATALAN. Now that I've talked about the epistolary genre as a literary form – at least since Sant Pau – I want to end with the letter that reader Paulí Arenas sent me:

"After reading the ARA report of Saturday, July 5 I have wondered how current critics and translators place those translators who in the past introduced us to Catullus as we have him in our bookstores.

A new translation [referring to that of Jaume Juan Castelló] always presents an author's text in a contemporary way, and, moreover, if it is published by a publishing house like Adesiara, which so carefully presents the Greek and Latin classics to us.

But looking back, the translation model developed by the members of the Bernat DoctorYou only need to pay attention to the images of the annual meetings and their social behavior. Were they prudent in the version of Catullus carried out by Joan Petit and Josep Vergés in 1928? Yes, but we must take into account the still-current ideals of Noucentisme and the religious formation of Josep Vergés. These were the years of splendor of the Catalan bourgeoisie under the patronage of Cambó, despite the dictatorial regime that had been imposed in Catalonia contrary to everything achieved by the Commonwealth. I believe it is the result of a way of thinking at the time when G. Valeri Catul was published. If the "lascivious" verses had been published, what would the censorship and what would the readers have said at the time?

Regarding the Spanish version published by Jaume Petit in the midst of the postwar period, he could say more than "I'm going to give you a taste of my virility." Could his translation of Catullus ever make it to bookstores? I don't think so.

I am grateful that I will be able to read the complete works of the Latin poet published by Adesiara."

The well-deserved vacation of Jordi Nopca, author of the article, has prevented reader Arenas from receiving the response permitted by the Readers' Ombudsman format. Therefore, given his high level of education, I am publishing it as is, as proof of what readers have to say.

The Readers' Ombudsman pays attention to doubts, suggestions, criticisms and complaints about the contents of the newspaper in its digital and paper editions, and ensures that the treatment of information is in accordance with the codes of ethics.

By contact the Readers' Ombudsman You can send an email to eldefensor@ara.cat or record a message of no more than one minute on WhatsApp at 653784787. In all cases, identification with your name, surname, and ID number is required.