Calvino and Spain between the fifties and sixties

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to document the links between Italo Calvino and Spanish culture, as well as Latin American culture, during a particular post-war period. The main focus of the article is on the period from the 1950s to the 1960s, from his initial contact with publishing houses tohis first journey through Spanish territory. In the Spring of 1959, he went to Spain to participate on behalf of Giulio Einaudi in the Formentor International Colloquium; a meeting that saw the establishment of the Prix Formentor (the Formentor Literature Prize) and the Prix International (the International Prize). From the 1960s onwards, representatives of the Barcelona School, such as Barral, José Agustín Goytisolo and Castellet, would prove significant in establishing the most dynamic relations, both personal and editorial/professional, with Calvino and Giulio Einaudi. Thanks to the constant exchange between Barral and Calvino, Italian readers became aware of the latest literature from Latin America. This article also highlights the difficulties that Calvino encountered in attempting to publicise his own work in Spain, despite the fact that he was already a renowned author in other Spanish-speaking countries. This article investigates and explores possible reasons for this. Finally, certain pages are dedicated to a particular hypothesis regarding two great contemporary writers, Calvino and Guimarães Rosa.