Joan Mari Torrealdai, a pesar de la censura

Abstract

The current article reviews the academic profile and work of Joan Mari Torrealdai, a pioneer in Basque studies on censorship. Thus, following some brief considerations about the different contributions he has made in the field of the social history of the Basque language and culture, the author goes on to analyze the contribution he made with his doctoral thesis in 1991, “La Censura gubernativa y el libro vasco (1936–1983): Análisis de los informes del Lectorado” (Government censorship and Basque books (1936– 1983): Analysis of the readership reports), and, especially, the publications that have come out of that work. Her comments on Torrealdai’s books on censorship, La censura de Franco y los escritores vascos del 98 (Franco’s censorship and the Basque writers of 98, 1998), La censura de Franco y el tema vasco (Franco’s censorship and the Basque issue, 1999), and Artaziak. Euskal Liburua eta Francoren zentsura (1936–1983) (Scissors: Basque books and Franco’s censorship (1936–1983), 2000), seek to address the most important conclusions in these works, especially those regarding the evolution of Francoist censorship in relation to Basque books and the Basque theme.