Manuel de Pedrolo i Molina (; 1918 – 1990) was a Catalan author of novels, short stories, poetry and plays. He is mostly known for his sci-fi novel Mecanoscrit del segon origen (Typescript of the Second Origin).
Manuel de Pedrolo was born in 1918 in L'Aranyó, in the Segarra comarca (county), in Catalonia. After the Spanish Civil War he settled in Barcelona, where he worked a variety of jobs while writing in his spare time. From 1974, he devoted himself entirely to literature, creating works, translating, and performing minor editorial tasks. He died in Barcelona in 1990 after a long illness.
Pedrolo explored literary genres including poetry, narrative, short stories, and theatre. His most well-known novel, Mecanoscrit del segon origen, is one of the best-selling books in Catalan literature.
Biography
Born in Castell de l'Aranyó, he belonged to a lower nobility family, the Pedrolo family. His father was a lawyer, although he never practiced. His mother died shortly after the birth of his younger brother Ramon. He studied secondary education in Tàrrega until 1935, when he moved to Barcelona; however, the Spanish Civil War interrupted his studies. In 1943, he married and settled permanently in Barcelona, in a flat-office in Sant Gervasi-Galvany (Carrer de Calvet, 9).
He began his literary career with a book of poems published in 1949. In 1953, he published his first novel, Es vessa una sang fàcil. In 1954, he won the Joanot Martorell Prize. He also contributed to Catalan publications such as Ariel, Canigó, Oriflama, and Serra d'Or. In 1979 he received the Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes.
A strong defender of an independent and socialist Catalan Countries, He was particularly critical of Catalan political parties before, during, and after the Spanish transition to democracy, and was often considered a reference and intellectual of the Esquerra Independentista. In 1979, he opposed the extradition from France of the Catalan independence activist Manuel Viusà.Dalmau i Juvillà, p.138 In 1982, he signed a petition requesting that the five Catalan independence activists of the "Batista i Roca case" be tried in Catalonia instead of Madrid, as was customary at the Audiencia Nacional (Spain).Dalmau i Juvillà, p.167
During the Spanish Civil War, he joined the Confederación Nacional de Trabajo and worked as a teacher in Fígols de les Mines. He served in the artillery branch of the People's Army and was sent to the fronts of Falset, Figueres, and Barcelona.
He was a member of the Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana, which organized the Mecanoscrit Prize for young writers from 1984 to 1989.
Pedrolo died on 26 June 1990 in Barcelona from cancer at the age of seventy-two.
In 2018, on the centenary of his birth, the Government of Catalonia officially commemorated the Year of Manuel de Pedrolo. The same year, Bel Zaballa published his biography, Manuel de Pedrolo. La llibertat insubornable.
Theatre According to Graells, Manuel de Pedrolo's theatrical work can be grouped into three periods: the first, from 1951 to 1956; the second, which could be called the "fertile triennium" (1957–1959); and the last, which includes his later production, from 1962 to 1978.
The first period includes the plays Els hereus de la cadira (1954) and La nostra mort de cada dia (1956), which feature realist elements that disappear in his later works. The central period comprises eight plays: Cruma (1957), Pell vella al fons del pou (1957), Homes i No (1957), Situació bis (1958), Algú a l'altre cap de peça (1958), Darrera versió, per ara (1958), Sóc el defecte (1958), and Tècnica de cambra (1959). The third period includes Acompanyo qualsevol cos (1962), Bones notícies de Sister (1962), L'ús de la matèria (1963), La sentència (1966), Aquesta nit tanquem (1973), and D'ara a demà (1977). However, the relationship among these works is less clearly defined.
Rosselló, on the other hand, refers to a central production period between 1957 and 1963 (from Cruma to L'ús de la matèria), consisting of two types of plays: one in which the protagonist rebels against a situation of oppression, and another focused on philosophical issues such as knowledge, communication, fate, or death.
Translation Beyond his work as a writer, Manuel de Pedrolo also carried out significant translation work, with 42 published translations. His first translations were of poetry from French (Rimbaud, Valéry, Éluard), English (Eliot, Sitwell, Pound), and Italian (Quasimodo). However, most of these translations were never published. Later, he also translated Sandburg, Cummings, Corso, Baudelaire, Campana, Ungaretti, and Saba, among others.
Regarding novel translation, Pedrolo directed the series «La Cua de Palla», which included translators such as Maria Aurèlia Capmany, Ramon Folch i Camarasa, Josep Vallverdú, Joaquim Carbó, Rafael Tasis, Maurici Serrahima i Bofill, Joan Oliver, and Pedrolo himself. Pedrolo is considered the introducer of contemporary North American fiction in Catalonia, with translations of Dos Passos, Salinger, Kerouac, Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Miller, among others.
In 1976, due to vision problems and back pain, Pedrolo abandoned his translation activity to focus exclusively on writing. Some translations completed before this were later published.
Censorship According to Benassar, Manuel de Pedrolo was the most persecuted writer under Francoist censorship. His works written during this period often experienced publishing delays; with an average delay of eight years for narrative works, five years for poetry, and ten years for theatre. In this period, thirty-three books waited more than ten years before being published; three of them (L'interior és el final, Fronteres interiors, and La nit horitzontal) waited over twenty years.
The first publishers willing to submit Pedrolo's manuscripts through the censors were Arca, Albertí, Moll, and Selecta. Due to the difficulty of finding publishers willing to present their manuscripts to censorship, Pedrolo, like other writers, used the obligation of publishers to print awarded works, as he himself acknowledged in an interview by Josep Maria Espinàs in the magazine Serra d'Or:
The main criteria applied to censor Pedrolo's work were "what we call Catalanism, political opinions, religion, sexual morality, and indecent language." Additional arguments could be added, as in the case of the novel Un amor fora ciutat (1959), regarding the literary quality of the work: "Por todo ello, y sobre todo por la excelente calidad literaria de la obra, consideramos a esta de gravemente peligrosa y en todo caso como atentatoria a la moral pública, conforme a la reiterada jurisprudencia del Tribunal Supremo sobre el homosexualismo. En consecuencia no debe ser aceptado el depósito y si ser puesta la obra a disposición del Ministerio Fiscal."
"For all these reasons, and above all for the excellent literary quality of the work, we consider it gravely dangerous and, in any case, offensive to public morality, according to the repeated jurisprudence of the Supreme Court regarding homosexuality. Consequently, the deposit should not be accepted and the work should be placed at the disposal of the Ministry of Justice."
Works
Novels La mà contra l'horitzó (The Hand Against the Horizon) Joc brut (Dirty Game) Cendra per Martina (Ashes for Martina) Totes les bèsties de càrrega (All the Beasts of Burden) Mecanoscrit del segon origen (The Second Origin Manuscript) Acte de violència (Act of Violence) Procés de contradicció suficient (Process of Sufficient Contradiction) Crucifeminació (Crucifemination)
Short story collections Crèdits humans (Human Credits) Trajecte final (Final Route)
Theatre Cruma (Cruma) Homes i no (Men and No) Situació bis (Situation Bis)
Press article collections Cal protestar fins i tot quan no serveix de res (We Must Protest Even When It Is Useless) Cròniques (Chronicles) Abans lluitar i morir que rendir-se (Better to Fight and Die than to Surrender)
El premi literari i més coses (The Literary Prize and More). Barcelona, Selecta, 1953. Valencia, Edicions Bromera, 1990. Es vessa una sang fàcil (Easy Blood Spilled). Barcelona, Albertí, 1954, 1964. Edicions La Magrana, 1986. Mister Chase, podeu sortir (Mister Chase, You May Exit). Barcelona, Albertí, 1955. Estrictament personal (Strictly Personal). Barcelona, Editorial Selecta, 1955. Domicili provisional (Provisional Residence). Palma, Editorial Moll, 1956. Barcelona, Edicions La Magrana, 1982. Barcanova, 1990. Un món per a tothom (A World for Everyone). Barcelona, Albertí, 1956. Les finestres s'obren de nit (Windows Open at Night). Palma, Moll, 1957. Violació de límits (Violation of Limits). Barcelona, Albertí, 1957. Crèdits humans (Human Credits). Barcelona, Selecta, 1957. L'inspector arriba tard (The Inspector Arrives Late). Palma, Moll, 1960. Barcelona, Edicions La Magrana, 1988. Una selva com la teva (A Jungle Like Yours). Barcelona, Edicions Destino, 1960. La mà contra l'horitzó (The Hand Against the Horizon). Barcelona, Nova Terra, 1961. La Llar del Llibre, 1985. Balanç fins a la matinada (Balance Until Dawn). Barcelona, Selecta, 1963, 1984. Cendra per Martina (Ashes for Martina). Barcelona, Proa, 1965, 1980. Kapel, 1982. Joc brut (Dirty Game). Barcelona, Edicions 62, 1965. Avui es parla de mi (Today People Talk About Me). Barcelona, Selecta, 1966. Elena de segona mà (Second-Hand Elena). Barcelona, Selecta, 1967. Edicions 62, 1985. M'enterro en els fonaments (I Bury Myself in the Foundations). Barcelona, Proa, 1967. Totes les bèsties de càrrega (All the Beasts of Burden). Barcelona, Edicions 62, 1967. A cavall de dos cavalls (Riding Two Horses). Barcelona, Alfaguara, 1967. Entrada en blanc (Entry in Blank). Barcelona, Cadí, 1968. Solució de continuïtat (Break in Continuity). Palma, Moll, 1968. Un camí amb Eva (A Path with Eva). Barcelona, Llibres de Sinera, 1968. Edicions 62, 1975, 1988. Se'n va un estrany (A Stranger Leaves). Barcelona, Llibres de Sinera, 1968. Edicions 62, 1976, 1988. Falgueres informa (Falgueres Reports). Barcelona, Llibres de Sinera, 1968. Edicions 62, 1979, 1989. Mossegar-se la cua (Biting One's Tail). Barcelona, Edicions 62, 1968, 1982. Un amor fora ciutat (A Love Outside the City). Barcelona: Aymà, 1970. Nou pams de terra (Nine Palms of Earth). Barcelona: Pòrtic, 1971. Si són roses, floriran (If They Are Roses, They Will Bloom). Barcelona: Nova Terra, 1971, 1977. Edicions 62, 1980. La Llar del Llibre, 1985. Situació analítica (Analytical Situation). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1971, 1977, 1989. Introducció a l'ombra (Introduction to the Shadow). Barcelona: Proa, 1972, 1985. Cops de bec a Pasadena (Beak Blows in Pasadena). Barcelona: Nova Terra, 1972, 1975. Edicions 62, 1980. Pas de ratlla (Step Over the Line). Barcelona: Proa, 1972. Des d'uns ulls de dona (From a Woman's Eyes). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1972, 1979. Avui, 1995. Unes mans plenes de sol (Hands Full of Sun). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1972. Espais de fecunditat irregulars (Spaces of Irregular Fertility). Barcelona: Proa, 1973, 1982 Viure a la intempèrie (Living in the Open). Barcelona: Nova Terra, 1974. L'ordenació dels maons (The Arrangement of Bricks). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1974, 1979, 1991 Algú que no hi havia de ser (Someone Who Should Not Have Been There). Barcelona: Proa, 1974. Text/càncer (Text/Cancer). Barcelona: Dopesa, 1974. Mecanoscrit del segon origen (The Second Origin Manuscript). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1974, 1982, 1986. L'interior és el final (The Interior Is the End). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1974. El temps a les venes (Time in the Veins). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1974. Cinc cordes (Five Strings). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1974. Internacional Setting (International Setting). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1974. Acte de violència (Act of Violence). Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1975, 1983, 1984, 1988.