Talk discussing the novel Andrea Víctrix by Llorenç Villalonga with translator P. Louise Johnson

Romancero Books with the support of the Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Spanish Embassy in London presents the Festival of Queer Spanish Literature in London - FQSLL

Louise Johnson in conversation with Jorge Gárriz about the novel Andrea Víctrix written by Llorenç Villalonga

Llorenç Villalonga (Palma de Mallorca, 1897-1980) was an important exponent of Majorcan narrative in the 20th century. Coming from a family of rural landowners, he studied medicine and began to publish articles in 1924. His first novel, Mort de dama (1931), courted controversy, though Bearn o la sala de les nines (1956 Spanish, 1961 Catalan) is perhaps his best-known work. Andrea Víctrix is considered to be his most ambitious novel. He died at home after a long illness.

Andrea Víctrix is wakeful and on edge, I could see only the negative in this era. We were living in the realm of the fake. Man was subjected to the continuous pressure of advertising which dictated what he could do and what he should think. With every day that went by, we found it more difficult to form an opinion of our own. The possibility of freedom could be glimpsed only occasionally when advertising campaigns contradicted each other, but this also raised the spectre of a descent into chaos. We were being poisoned by words and there was no way back.

Part socio-political essay, part dystopian fiction, Andrea Víctrix presents a shockingly prescient vision of Palma, Mallorca in 2050. In comparing the anonymous narrator’s ‘traditional’ 1960s values with a future society that has done away with family and gender, Villalonga sets up an intriguing interplay between the narrator and the androgynous Andrea Víctrix, so-called Director of Pleasure, in a powerfully satirical, sometimes ironic exploration of contemporary issues such as gender and sexuality, consumerism, environmental disaster and the politics of big business.

Dr. Louise Johnson is the translator of the novel from Catalan into English. Louise Johnson was an undergraduate and postgraduate at St John's College, University of Oxford, and College Lecturer at Keble College, before joining the Department of Hispanic Studies at Sheffield in January 1996. Within the now School of Languages and Cultures, Louise is Director of Catalan Studies, and teaches Catalan and Spanish language, literature, culture, and Translation Studies at undergraduate level, and contributes to taught postgraduate modules, as well as supervising research students in the areas of Catalan and Iberian Studies, with a particularly focus on literature. Louise is also currently Faculty of Arts and Humanities Assistant Director of Research and Innovation with responsibility for Postgraduate Affairs.

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Talk sponsored by the Institut Ramon Llull - Catalan language and culture abroad.

Event in English.

Pre-recordered talk available only during Sunday 3 October.

Zoom link will be sent 24 hours before the opening of the festival.

Access to the festival available from every country around the world.

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Check the festival’s website for other events

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Festival de Literatura Queer Española en Londres - 1 al 3 de octubre de 2021

Programa

Viernes 1 de octubre

Charla

Entrevista a Camila Sosa sobre su novela Las Malas

En castellano with English subtitles

Podcast 

sobre la vida del escritor Ángel Vazquez  y su libro La vida perra de Juanita Narboni

con Miguel Agnes, y Paz Olivares y Weldon Penderton del podcast Niños Gratis

En castellano

Mesa redonda

sobre el Teatro queer español contemporáneo 

con Luisgé Martín, Nando López y Alberto Conejero. 

Charla dirigida por las directoras de la compañía de teatro Little Soldiers Productions con sede en Londres

En castellano
 

Talk

Discussing the novel Permafrost

with author Eva Baltasar, translator Julia Sanches,

and Stefan Tobler from the book’s

UK publisher And Other Stories

In English

Sábado 2 de octubre

Charla

Presentación de la novela El Power Ranger Rosa

con su autor Christo Casas y los editores Paz Olivares 

y Weldon Penderton de Niños Gratis

En castellano with English subtitles
 

Charla

Presentación del libro de relatos Pronto seré de Oro y Carmín 

con su autore Vanina Bruc y Alberto Rodríguez y Gonzalo Izquierdo 

editores de Dos Bigotes editorial

En castellano with English subtitles

Podcast 

Sobre la vida y la obra del poeta Jaime Gil de Biedma 

con Paco Clavel, el director de cine Sigfrid Monleón 

y Juan Sánchez del podcast Cineciento - Subterfuge

En castellano

Charla

Presentación del ensayo Historia Queer del Flamenco

con su autore Fernando López Rodríguez 

En castellano with English subtitles

Charla

Presentación del libro Tengo miedo torero de Pedro Lemebel 

Con los editores Francisco Llorca y Magda Anglès de Las Afueras editorial

Conferencia

A cargo del catedrático José Luis Plaza Chillón sobre su libro Efebos tristes. La Iconografía homosexual masculina en lo dibujos de Federico García Lorca.

En castellano
 

Domingo 3 de octubre

Talk

Discussing the novel Andrea Víctrix

by Llorenç Villalonga with English translator Louise Johnson 

In English

Live Poetry Reading - 3pm

Poet Leo Boix reads from his collection

Ballad of a Happy Immigrant

Spanglish
 

Charla

Presentación de la traducción al castellano del libro Napal al cor

con su autore Pol Guasch

En castellano 

Mesa redonda - 5pm

Sobre Poesía queer contemporánea española y recital poético 

con les poetes Adrián Peñalver, Oscar Espirita, Perla Zuñiga y Lalu Bee

En castellano

Lectura en directo del cadáver exquisito - 6.30pm

escrito por les participantes del festival.

A cargo del agitador cultural Andrés Bravo

En castellano

*****

Friday 1 October

Talk

Discussing the novel Las Malas

with author Camila Sosa

In Spanish with English Subtitles

Podcast

Discussing the writer Ángel Vazquez and his book La vida perra de Juanita Narboni

with Miguel Agnes, Paz Olivares and Weldon Penderton from Niños Gratos Podcast

In Spanish

Round Table

Discussing contemporary queer Spanish theatre

with Luisgé Martín, Nando López and Alberto Conejero

hosted by UK theatre company Little Soldiers Productions

In Spanish

Talk

Discussing the novel Permafrost

with author Eva Baltasar, translator Julia Sanches and Stefan Tobler 

from the book´s UK publisher And Other Stories

In English
 

Saturday 2 October

Talk

Discussing the novella El Power Ranger Rosa

with author Christo Casas and Paz Olivares and Weldon Penderton 

from the Niños Gratis publisher and podcast

In Spanish with English subtitles

Talk

Discussing the short story collection Pronto seré de Oro y Carmín

with author Vanina Bruc, and Alberto Rodríguez and Gonzalo Izquierdo 

from publisher Dos Bigotes

In Spanish with English sutitles

Podcast

Discussing the poet Jaime Gil de Biedma

with Paco Clavel, film director Sigfrid Monleón,

and Juan Sánchez from Cineciento Podcast

In Spanish
 

Talk

Discussing the essay Historia Queer del Flamenco

with author Fernando López Rodríguez

In Spanish with English subtitles
 

Talk

Discussing the novel Tengo miedo torero

by Pedro Lemebel with Francisco Llorca and Magda Anglés 

from publisher Las Afueras

In Spanish

 

Lecture

Author José Luis Plaza Chillón on his book

Efebos tristes. La iconografía homosexual masculina en los dibujos de Federico García Lorca

In Spanish

Sunday 3 October

Talk

Discussing the novel Andrea Víctrix

by Llorenc Villalonga with English translator Louise Johnson

In English

Live Poetry Reading - 3pm

Poet Leo Boix reads from his collection

Ballad of a Happy Immigrant

In Spanglish

Talk

Discussing the novel Napal al cor

with author Pol Guasch

In Spanish

 

Live Round Table & Poetry Reading - 5pm

Discussing contemporary queer Spanish poetry 

with poets Adrián Peñalver, Oscar Espirita, Perla Zuñiga and Lalu Bee

In Spanish

Live Reading - 6.30pm

Cultural aesthete Andrés Bravo facilitates

and Exquisite Cadaver with the festival´s participants