BookTalk.org

Hello Everybody,

My name is Simon Harris. I'm British-born but have lived in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, currently part of the state of Spain, since 1988.

I'm mainly here to promote my books 'Going Native in Catalonia' (2008) and 'Catalonia Is Not Spain: A Historical Perspective' (2014) but am fully aware that the best way to do this is by interacting with the community, making friends and finding things in common.

You'll have guessed that my subject matter is centred on Catalan history, culture and language but I'm pretty open as far as my interests and reading matter are concerned. Really interested in sharing self-publishing and promotion tips as I've got another book in the oven, which I hope to publish in spring 2015.

Anyway, nice to meet you, to meet you, nice ... looking forward to making friends and getting to know people.

Welcome Simon. I spent some time in Spain in the seventies and loved it - even had a quick trip to Barcelona. Spain impressed me so much I have included some time there in my latest novel, a crime mystery. I hope your latest book does well for you. There are a lot of indie authors here and they write an amazing array of books. I'm sure you'll enjoy the time you spend on this site.

Thanks for the Welcome, Rita.

As you may have guessed from the title, my current topic is about Catalonia not being Spain. Agree or not, I'm fortunate to be living the Catalan process for independence first hand ... it's very exciting both to be part of it and also to have the chance to write about history as it happens.

What did you think of Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell?

It's a work of genius. I read it just after I arrived in Barcelona back in 1988 and being able to walk around places where Orwell had been was a total inspiration then and still is now. In fact, I give occasional guided tours of Barcelona and always point out Hotel Continental on La Rambla, where Orwell and his wife stayed, and the Reial Academia de Ciencies i Arts, where Orwell and his POUM comrades holed up for their battle against the Stalinist Communists, who were in Café Moka, just across the way.

I come from a left-wing background so I had read almost everything Orwell had written and it was clear to see the truth in his claim that everything he wrote afterwards was inspired by his experiences of the Spanish Civil War in Barcelona and on the Huesca front. This is particularly clear in Animal Farm but also apparent in 1984.

Hi Simon. I am also something of an Orwell freak. As a teenager I read 1984, Animal Farm, Burmese Days, Homage to Catalonia, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, the Collected Essays, Road to Wigan Pier and Down and Out in Paris and London.

I felt that the analysis of Stalinism in Homage to Catalonia did, as you suggest, strongly inform the parables of Animal Farm and 1984. I recall debates with my English teacher about to what extent Big Brother was based on Stalin and the Papacy. Orwell illustrates the deep institutional practicality of Stalinism compared to Trotskyism, especially regarding appreciation of the relative power of ideas and bullets. World history was writ small in Spain in the tectonic clash between fascism and communism. The POUM, Orwell's heroic Trotskyite force, was iirc rather like a flea on an elephant in the midst of this clash of titans.

I think Orwell's insight included that eventually power requires legitimacy, and the insane illegitimacy of fascism and communism produced the tragedy of modern history.

For me, Catalonia is associated with the Catalan Opening. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_Opening

You must also like Gaudi.

I'd never heard of the Catalan opening, Robert, despite having many chess-playing friends. FC Barcelona and the Beautiful Game are my personal obsession and a Catalan opening generally has more to do with a pass from Xavi to Neymar, who crosses into the the box for Messi to volley the ball into the back of the net in minute 1 of the first half! Just saying!

What's quite interesting about the Orwell story is that from an English-speaking point of view is that this and the International Brigades is the best-known angle - it's repeated almost verbatim in Ken Loach's 'Land and Freedom'. However, from a Catalan point of view, it barely gets a mention. Consequently, in my chapter on the Civil War, I deliberately take the Catalan angle - Catalonia declared 'independence' twice during the Second Republic and if you see the Spanish Civil War only as a battle between left and right, communism and fascism, you get a very lop-sided view.

PS. Of course I love Gaudí but once again he's just the most famous name. I personally prefer Domènech i Montaner at times and we mustn't forget Puig i Cadafalch, Rubió i Bellver and many others!

Hello Simon,

You're going about sharing your book (soon to be books) in the right way. And I appreciate that.

Welcome to the BookTalk.org community.

Hi, I had the great good fortune to visit Barcelona 2 summers ago. My time in Catalonia left an indelible mark on me - I long to go back. One of my favorite outings while visiting Barcelona we took a day trip to Figuerees to see a castellers competition. For those of you who are unfamiliar with castellers - just about everyone that has not visited Catalonia - it is a sport or sorts, where teams comprised of a large number of people build a very tall human tower.

http://barcelona.de/en/barcelona-castel ... owers.html

Yes, Saffron

I'd say the Castellers are a defining feature of Catalan culture, which excells in its capacity for teamwork and cooperation. One of the reasons they resisted so well under Franco is that they form groups to collect mushrooms or asparagus, restore churches and study history and also to practice traditional dances and prepare for the many local festivals that are held throughout the country.

On the subject of festivals, great tmes to visit Barcelona are for the Festes de Gràcia in August, where the streets of this central neighbourhood are decorated in the most extraordinary ways, for Barcelona's main festival La Mercè in the week around Sep 24th, when the have amazing processions of what is known as the Bestiari Popular and loads of free concerts and exhibitions.

The national Castellers competition is held in Tarragona in October, here's a video to give you an idea!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ_zaYbzu3U