Correspondencia, 1948-1986 (Miguel Delibes)

by Miguel Delibes, Josep Vergés Matas

“Hace unos años, poco antes de morir, Josep Vergés me envió unas carpetas con nuestra correspondencia de 40 años. Eran cartas contables y aburridas y las desestimé como posible objeto de edición. Posteriormente, al cambiar la dirección de destino, me hicieron ver que nuestras cartas no eran solamente interesadas, sino que por debajo de ellas, se manifestaba el nacimiento floreciente de una amistad. Alguien me descubrió el hecho de que Vergés aceptara naturalmente la subida de mis derechos al 15% y de que yo no le exigiera destruir el ejemplar de obra completa con más de 300 erratas, eran indicios de que algo más importante que el dinero se cocía allí. Reparé entonces en que nuestra correspondencia no era solamente el enfrentamiento entre un rácano editor catalán y un rácano autor castellano cargado de hijos, como pensé en principio, sino un primer contacto entre dos hombres de buena voluntad unidos por el afecto antes que por los intereses y llamados a sostener una fraternidad vitalicia. Aquí están estas cartas para que el lector juzgue.” Miguel Delibes

Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

Miguel Delibes Setién was a Spanish novelist, journalist and newspaper editor associated with the Generation of '36 movement. From 1975 until his death, he was a member of the Royal Spanish Academy, where he occupied letter "e" seat. Educated in commerce, he began his career as a cartoonist and columnist. He later became the editor for the regional newspaper El Norte de Castilla before gradually devoting himself exclusively to writing novels.
He was a connoisseur of the flora and fauna of Castile and was passionate about hunting and the countryside. These were common themes in his writing, and he often wrote from the perspective of a city-dweller who remained connected with the rural world.
He was one of the leading figures of post-Civil War Spanish literature, winning numerous literary prizes. Several of his works have been adapted into plays or have been turned into films, winning awards at the Cannes Film Festival among others. He has been ranked with Heinrich Böll and Graham Greene as one of the most prominent Catholic writers of the second half of the twentieth century. He was deeply affected by the death of his wife in 1974. In 1998 he was diagnosed with colon cancer, from which he never fully recovered.