Thomson took the opportunity to chat with me about their work and Catalan literature in general at the presentation of Coca’s Under the Dust, a translation by Thomson of the 2000 Sant Jordi prize winner Sota la pols. Under the Dust is published by Welsh editorial Parthian, and is Coca’s first work to be translated into English.

–Mr. Coca, you said in the presentation that you were genuinely surprised at the number of people who came to the presentation of the Under the Dust in Cardiff, and even more so since they had to pay to attend. Why was that?

Jordi Coca: I was surprised that even one person showed up! [He laughs.]

–Well, considering that pleasant surprise, how do you see the situation of catalan literature abroad, above all in the English language market?

The situation of the international projection of Catalan literature has been conditioned up until now by the 40 years of dictatorship and the 25 years of the ineffectiveness of what I call the Pujolista regime. This has been one disaster on top of another. In any case, now the situation has improved a bit. But let's be honest. We are talking about a minor language and a minor literature with many problems stemming from the composition of Catalan society- namely, the presence of many Spanish speakers and the large number of immigrants who integrate by learning Spanish before Catalan. In any case, we have a little more space, but we must struggle to conserve and improve these gains.

Richard Thomas: Catalan Literature is getting a fairly big push from here [Catalonia], but generally speaking in the British market it is pretty much unknown except by specialist carriers. Overall the British public still has a long way to go but then again, the British public doesn't read translated literature. Only three percent of all books published in the UK are translations. There are, however, centres of interests- publishers and universities where you can study Catalan in Britain, and even more in Germany. Right now you can study Catalan in over 30 German universities, and also at a lot of universities in the US as well.

J.C.: Yes, I believe something very interesting may happen in North America. I think there is going to be a discovery of the "Catalan phenomenon" because the North American universities are now saturated with Hispanic Studies. They know it all by now, and they are always looking for a new subject. So we are going to see the opening of a new field of opportunities which will be important. It will be a long process, but that is what really interests us the most because the fate of one book, whether it sells well or is widely read is not something you can control or predict, and what truly matters is how a literature earns a degree of prestige. The critical opinion is what counts, and it comes from universities and critics. I believe that, baring some unforeseen setback, this will eventually take place.

Another thing is what will happen here with the socio-demographic and linguistic developments. But this is the first time in 300 years that we are experiencing a positive moment. Until now there have only been moments or survival and self-exploitation. Now, it appears that there is possibility to greatly improve the standing of Catalan. But don't pay any attention to me because actually I am very pessimistic. [He laughs.]

–Continuing on the same subject, would you like to comment on the Frankfurt Book Fair and the debate surrounding that?

R.T.: I can think of a parallel situation. If Wales were the featured guest, I rather doubt that English language writers from Wales would be invited to go. But again, there are very few Welsh writers writing in Welsh. I think the whole thing has been a bit of a joke really and has been created by people who just really want to create trouble.

J.C.: Well, as you can imagine, the fact that Catalan literature is the featured guest of the fair is, in my opinion, fantastic. However, this argument about whether writers who write in another language should also be considered representatives of Catalan literature is true madness. It is the due to a lack of authority and self-esteem. If those in charge had made it clear from the very first moment that only writers who write in Catalan would go, it would never have been an issue.

Two years ago I told the delegation's organizers I would not accept an invitation because it had been poorly planned. My position was to fight for the goal that only writers who wrote in Catalan would be included in the delegation. At the end, of course, I am very pleased with the result, but I am still not going.

–I noticed that in the translation of Under the dust you opted for what I would call Briticisms, e.g. the use of "lads" instead of the more neutral "boys". Do you think thisgave the translation a more British tint?

J.C.: Well, I certainly did think about it. There was this one part where I was very tempted to use either "yellow" or "chicken" instead of "coward" because it would have fit perfectly, but those are not words that I would use in my dialect. It was some- thing I thought about, but basically I decided to plant it in British English when I had to. Coming from my own "idolect", I use the word "lad" quite often. I could have put "guys" but it is for a British market and so I opted for that style. And that's why I didn't choose "yellow" or "chicken" because they are not British.

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