the essential
Thursday, the Nouvelle Page bookstore welcomed Edurne Portela, writer, born in the Basque Country, for “Maddi” (true story of an indomitable woman), her first book translated into French (Liana Levi editions). A novel with anti-fascist and feminist overtones.
Valérie Portois, the dynamic bookseller, led the debates. After a short summary, she questioned the author on the genesis of the book, the character of the heroine, and her writing styles before the questions from the participants began to flow.
In 1922, Maria Joséfa Sansberro, known as Maddi, daughter of peasants, arrived in the Basque Country to manage a hotel. Maddi will smuggle, then help the fleeing Spanish Republicans and finally those fleeing Nazism towards Spain, throughout the war and until the landing. Deported, she died in a concentration camp.
“For years, Joxemari Mitxelena, left-wing independence activist and amateur historian, and Izarraitz Villaluce, gathered 1,600 documents,” explains the author. At the end of their research, they entrusted me with the file. I chose this form, the novel, to be able to imagine the woman in all her dimension but while respecting the documentation to remain faithful to her memory. I adopted the first person, I took the voice of a woman who had her. own voice: it was necessary to transmit his memory.”
Edurne Portela says she chose “the concordance of the language with Maddi’s life”. Before the deportation, the style is that of this free woman: voluble, funny, striking, with hilarious monologues, especially those with God.
With the deportation, “she no longer finds the words to describe what she is experiencing: a process of moral and physical decomposition”. Then the writing, “like a kind of poem” becomes laconic, elliptical, overwhelming.
A stele in Sare
Anchored in a rich historical context, this story is a beautiful and moving portrait of a free, progressive, courageous woman who defends her values and follows through on her ideas.
Since 2022, a stele in memory of Maddi has been erected in Sare, near her hotel.
