In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Sales and the second or maternal family name is Vallès; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
Joan Sales i Vallès (1912-1983) was a Catalan writer, translator and publisher, who promoted Catalan culture under the Franco dictatorship. His best-known novel and major testament is Uncertain Glory (Catalan: Incerta Glòria).
Joan Sales was born on 19 November 1912 in Barcelona. His father was originally from Vallclara (Conca de Barbarà) and his mother from Terrassa. Breaking with the conservative and traditionalist politics of his family,[Notes 1] Sales became politically active at a young age and at the age of 15 he was imprisoned for three months for protesting against the Primo de Rivera dictatorship. He was involved in the foundation of the Partit Comunista Català in 1928 and it was here that he met his future wife Núria Folch i Pi. The PCC joined the Bloc Obrer i Camperol in 1931. However, Sales soon left the BOC, disillusioned with what he felt to be the party’s rigid discipline and its retreat from its Catalan roots.[1][Notes 2] In 1932, Sales obtained a law degree and also became one of the first officially recognised teachers of Catalan.
With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Sales enrolled in the Catalan Military Academy (Catalan: Escola de Guerra) and, as an officer, was sent first to the anarchist Durruti column[Notes 3] in Madrid and then to a militarised battalion on the Aragon front. In 1938, he was arrested and imprisoned for several weeks by the Communist-controlled Military Investigation Service (described by his wife as the local version of the GPU[2]) for not reporting two of his brothers who, having been called up for military service, had then disappeared. In fact, all the male members of the Sales family were detained including a German brother-in-law. Three of the six brothers in the family were to die of typhus, which was rife in the concentration camp where they were being held. Sales himself was acquitted of all charges and returned to the front. He was sent to a column which was among the last to resist Franco’s troops at the Balaguer bridgehead. He was then involved in a rearguard action protecting the chaotic Republican military and civilian retreat. In the final days of the war, he was promoted to the post of major.
Following the defeat of the Spanish Republic at the hands of the fascists, he was one of the last to take the road to exile and cross into France at the Col d’Ares.[Notes 4] He was to spend nine years in exile: in France,[Notes 5] the Dominican Republic and Mexico, where he worked as a typesetter. On his return to Catalonia in 1948, he began writing his great work, Uncertain Glory. He also dedicated himself to publishing books in Catalan, as far as that was possible within the constraints of Francoist censorship.
Joan Sales's gravestone
Joan Sales died in Barcelona in 1983 and was buried in Siurana, Priorat. His wife, Núria Folch, who died in 2010, was buried beside him. They were survived by their daughter, Núria Sales i Folch, a historian.
Publisher and translatorEdit
As a publisher, Sales founded Club Editor and was actively involved in keeping Catalan culture and literature alive during the Franco dictatorship. He published a number of classics of Catalan literature: most notably, In Diamond Square [Notes 6](Catalan:La plaça del Diamant) by Mercè Rodoreda and The Doll's Room (Catalan: Bearn o la sala de les nines) by Llorenç Villalonga. He also published the poems of his great friend, Màrius Torres and a volume of their correspondence during the Civil War and the period of exile, Cartes a Màrius Torres. As a translator, Sales translated authors such as Dostoevsky,[Notes 7]Kazantzakis and Mauriac into Catalan. The dostoevskian influence is evident in his great novel, Uncertain Glory.
PoliticsEdit
Sales was a convinced Christian Democrat and committed Catalan nationalist. Following his return from exile, he joined the Democratic Union of Catalonia (Catalan: Unió Democràtica de Catalunya). He explained that he became a Catholic during the Civil War, having seen so many corpses and that the UDC was the only party without any blood on its hands.[1] He conceived his masterpiece, Uncertain Glory, as a testament to his dead comrades: "I sought to bear witness to that which I had experienced, against the black lie - the Falangists - and also the red lie - the Falangists first and then the Communists."[1]
WorksEdit
1950 Rondalles escollides de Guimerà, Casaponce i Alcover (illustrated by Elvira Elias)
1951 Rondalles gironines i valencianes (illustrated by Elvira Elias)
1952 Rondalles d'ahir i avui (illustrated by Montserrat Casanova)
1952 Viatge d'un moribund
1953 Rondalles escollides de Ramon Llull, Mistral i Verdaguer (illustrated by d'Elvira Elias, preface from Carles Riba)
1956 Uncertain Glory[3] (Incerta glòria) 1971: uncensored, revised and expanded.
^Sales in his Cartes a Màrius Torres mentions that he and his brother Francesc were the only “republicans” in the family. The others were undoubtedly very close to the Regionalist League of Catalonia (Catalan: Lliga Regionalista) and its continuation. An uncle on Joan Sales’s mother’s side, Joan Vallès i Pujals, was a member of that party and held a number of posts including city councillor, president of the Provincial Deputation of Barcelona and senator for Girona. With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he went over to the Francoists.
^Another factor in Sales’s disenchantment may have been the testimony he heard from Andreu Nin regarding the reality of the Stalinist regime in the USSR. After Nin’s expulsion from Moscow and return to Barcelona in 1930, he and Sales met socially on a number of occasions. Nin, while describing Stalin as a “monster”, defended the previous Leninist regime. However, Sales recounts in his Cartes a Màrius Torres that he saw a clear continuation between the two.
^In the Durruti column the officers were given the title of technicians or technical experts (Catalan: tècnics). Sales became increasingly disenchanted with his role as a “technician” in the column and he later described the five months he spent them as “hellish”. They in turn became more and more dissatisfied with him. He recounts in his book, Cartes a Màrius Torres, that the anarchist leading committee held a meeting to decide on his fate, where it was discussed whether to shoot him or expel him. After a long and heated debate, they opted for the latter.
^Sales recounts in Uncertain Glory that when the Republican troops arrived at the frontier pass and looked back to the Catalan villages and towns going up in smoke, they all (including the anarchists) sang Virolai, the hymn to Our Lady of Montserrat.
^In France, Sales and other Catalan exiles sought permission to form a Catalan military unit to fight on the side of the Allies against Nazi Germany. However, the only option he was given was to join the French Foreign Legion.
^Also translated as The Time of the Doves and The Pigeon Girl.
^By coincidence, Andreu Nin (see Notes 2) also translated Dostoevsky into Catalan.
ReferencesEdit
^ abcIbarz, Mercè (20 March 2017). "El pensament fermat de Joan Sales (interview from 1980)". vilaweb.
joan, sales, vallès, this, catalan, name, first, paternal, surname, sales, second, maternal, family, name, vallès, both, generally, joined, conjunction, 1912, 1983, catalan, writer, translator, publisher, promoted, catalan, culture, under, franco, dictatorship. In this Catalan name the first or paternal surname is Sales and the second or maternal family name is Valles both are generally joined by the conjunction i Joan Sales i Valles 1912 1983 was a Catalan writer translator and publisher who promoted Catalan culture under the Franco dictatorship His best known novel and major testament is Uncertain Glory Catalan Incerta Gloria Joan Sales i VallesBorn19 November 1912BarcelonaDied12 November 1983BarcelonaBurial placeSiurana Priorat MonumentsMirador de Joan Sales Barcelona https bcnsostenible cat web punt mirador de joan salesOccupation s Catalan writer publisher and translatorNotable workUncertain Glory Winds of the NightContents 1 Biography 2 Publisher and translator 3 Politics 4 Works 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksBiography EditJoan Sales was born on 19 November 1912 in Barcelona His father was originally from Vallclara Conca de Barbara and his mother from Terrassa Breaking with the conservative and traditionalist politics of his family Notes 1 Sales became politically active at a young age and at the age of 15 he was imprisoned for three months for protesting against the Primo de Rivera dictatorship He was involved in the foundation of the Partit Comunista Catala in 1928 and it was here that he met his future wife Nuria Folch i Pi The PCC joined the Bloc Obrer i Camperol in 1931 However Sales soon left the BOC disillusioned with what he felt to be the party s rigid discipline and its retreat from its Catalan roots 1 Notes 2 In 1932 Sales obtained a law degree and also became one of the first officially recognised teachers of Catalan With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War Sales enrolled in the Catalan Military Academy Catalan Escola de Guerra and as an officer was sent first to the anarchist Durruti column Notes 3 in Madrid and then to a militarised battalion on the Aragon front In 1938 he was arrested and imprisoned for several weeks by the Communist controlled Military Investigation Service described by his wife as the local version of the GPU 2 for not reporting two of his brothers who having been called up for military service had then disappeared In fact all the male members of the Sales family were detained including a German brother in law Three of the six brothers in the family were to die of typhus which was rife in the concentration camp where they were being held Sales himself was acquitted of all charges and returned to the front He was sent to a column which was among the last to resist Franco s troops at the Balaguer bridgehead He was then involved in a rearguard action protecting the chaotic Republican military and civilian retreat In the final days of the war he was promoted to the post of major Following the defeat of the Spanish Republic at the hands of the fascists he was one of the last to take the road to exile and cross into France at the Col d Ares Notes 4 He was to spend nine years in exile in France Notes 5 the Dominican Republic and Mexico where he worked as a typesetter On his return to Catalonia in 1948 he began writing his great work Uncertain Glory He also dedicated himself to publishing books in Catalan as far as that was possible within the constraints of Francoist censorship nbsp Joan Sales s gravestoneJoan Sales died in Barcelona in 1983 and was buried in Siurana Priorat His wife Nuria Folch who died in 2010 was buried beside him They were survived by their daughter Nuria Sales i Folch a historian Publisher and translator EditAs a publisher Sales founded Club Editor and was actively involved in keeping Catalan culture and literature alive during the Franco dictatorship He published a number of classics of Catalan literature most notably In Diamond Square Notes 6 Catalan La placa del Diamant by Merce Rodoreda and The Doll s Room Catalan Bearn o la sala de les nines by Llorenc Villalonga He also published the poems of his great friend Marius Torres and a volume of their correspondence during the Civil War and the period of exile Cartes a Marius Torres As a translator Sales translated authors such as Dostoevsky Notes 7 Kazantzakis and Mauriac into Catalan The dostoevskian influence is evident in his great novel Uncertain Glory Politics EditSales was a convinced Christian Democrat and committed Catalan nationalist Following his return from exile he joined the Democratic Union of Catalonia Catalan Unio Democratica de Catalunya He explained that he became a Catholic during the Civil War having seen so many corpses and that the UDC was the only party without any blood on its hands 1 He conceived his masterpiece Uncertain Glory as a testament to his dead comrades I sought to bear witness to that which I had experienced against the black lie the Falangists and also the red lie the Falangists first and then the Communists 1 Works Edit1950 Rondalles escollides de Guimera Casaponce i Alcover illustrated by Elvira Elias 1951 Rondalles gironines i valencianes illustrated by Elvira Elias 1952 Rondalles d ahir i avui illustrated by Montserrat Casanova 1952 Viatge d un moribund 1953 Rondalles escollides de Ramon Llull Mistral i Verdaguer illustrated by d Elvira Elias preface from Carles Riba 1956 Uncertain Glory 3 Incerta gloria 1971 uncensored revised and expanded 1972 En Tirant lo Blanc a Grecia opera bufa 1976 Cartes a Marius Torres 4 1983 Winds of the Night 5 El vent de nit 1986 Cartes de la guerraNotes Edit Sales in his Cartes a Marius Torres mentions that he and his brother Francesc were the only republicans in the family The others were undoubtedly very close to the Regionalist League of Catalonia Catalan Lliga Regionalista and its continuation An uncle on Joan Sales s mother s side Joan Valles i Pujals was a member of that party and held a number of posts including city councillor president of the Provincial Deputation of Barcelona and senator for Girona With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War he went over to the Francoists Another factor in Sales s disenchantment may have been the testimony he heard from Andreu Nin regarding the reality of the Stalinist regime in the USSR After Nin s expulsion from Moscow and return to Barcelona in 1930 he and Sales met socially on a number of occasions Nin while describing Stalin as a monster defended the previous Leninist regime However Sales recounts in his Cartes a Marius Torres that he saw a clear continuation between the two In the Durruti column the officers were given the title of technicians or technical experts Catalan tecnics Sales became increasingly disenchanted with his role as a technician in the column and he later described the five months he spent them as hellish They in turn became more and more dissatisfied with him He recounts in his book Cartes a Marius Torres that the anarchist leading committee held a meeting to decide on his fate where it was discussed whether to shoot him or expel him After a long and heated debate they opted for the latter Sales recounts in Uncertain Glory that when the Republican troops arrived at the frontier pass and looked back to the Catalan villages and towns going up in smoke they all including the anarchists sang Virolai the hymn to Our Lady of Montserrat In France Sales and other Catalan exiles sought permission to form a Catalan military unit to fight on the side of the Allies against Nazi Germany However the only option he was given was to join the French Foreign Legion Also translated as The Time of the Doves and The Pigeon Girl By coincidence Andreu Nin see Notes 2 also translated Dostoevsky into Catalan References Edit a b c Ibarz Merce 20 March 2017 El pensament fermat de Joan Sales interview from 1980 vilaweb Paper de Vidre entrevista Nuria Folch Sala Joan 2016 Uncertain Glory MacLehose Press ISBN 978 0857051530 Sales Joan 2014 Cartes a Marius Torres Club Editor ISBN 978 84 7329 185 9 Sales Joan 2017 Winds of the Night MacLehose Press ISBN 978 0857056177 External links EditJoan Sales on webpage of Association of Catalan Writers in English and Catalan Joan Sales i Valles lletrA UOC Open University of Catalonia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Joan Sales i Valles amp oldid 1177366214, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
