Editar contra la censura. El cas de Teatre català de postguerra (1973), de Jordi Arbonès

Abstract

Anti-censorship publishing. The case of Teatre català de postguerra (1973) by Jordi Arbonès Teatre català de postguerra (Catalan postwar drama) (1973) by Jordi Arbonès, a first attempt to assess Catalan drama between 1939 and 1969, was harshly attacked by Francos censors. This article reports on the connections maintained by Arbonès with Catalan drama; it emphasizes the desire to inform and protest in his work, while describing the vicissitudes of the process of publication and analysing the implacable censorship of the original script, which with its endless «consultations» and «judgments» always leading to rejection, held up publication for three years. Analysis of the surviving documentation has made it possible to retrace in detail the mechanisms of censorship and the publishers self-imposed censorship in order to acquire the necessary permission. In this sense, Teatre català de postguerra is a perfect example of the inherent perversity of Francoist censorship and its utmost severity in quashing the least sign of disagreement with the ideals of the regime, especially if it was written in Catalan.