Bernardo Atxaga and His Defense of the Autonomy of Literature

Abstract

The article analyses the way Bernardo Atxaga defended the autonomy of the art (more precisely of literature) within the Basque literary field along the 70’s and 80’s of XX^th century. Firstly, it examines the problem of autonomy throughout the aesthetic criticism of the Frankfurt School (particularly Theodor Adorno) and the sociological criticism of Pierre Bordieu, that give us light in order to understand the complexity of Atxaga’s study of the problem. Moreover, it studies the genealogy of Atxaga’s ideas, since his first texts in Anaitasuna and Ustela, until his debates with Joxe Azurmendi and Txillardegi. The study of all Atxaga’s textual corpus about the topic gives the possibility to evaluate more precisely the problem of autonomy, and calls into question some of the common places of Basque criticism.