Journals and memories of Jorge Herralde, the last of the mohicans edition

the future of The valuable archive of Logo is still unknown, despite the pressures of Balearic Catalan because it is in Barcelona, what is certain is that in September, we will publish a preview of the correspondence more significant maintained with their authors

After the opening to the means of the treasure cave, the fate of that precious loot literary and cultural-has not only become the pasture of all kinds of rumors, but a question of the State, especially in the current climate of tension between Catalonia and Madrid.

For the parties, that the metaphor is not that much. The treasure cave is the study-store of the house's Monogram. The treasure in particular, the files of the historic editorial-to-point reaching 50 years of life. A half-century of literary history to live locked up in 129 file cabinets white containing more than 30,000 documents between correspondence with authors, agents and publishers around the globe, contracts, manuscripts, photographs, never-before-seen, papers of all kinds, lawsuits... For having there are even some letters of Jean-Paul Sartre, not to mention all the authors most emblematic of this collection of minimalist covers gray with the that formed several generations of readers: Rafael Chirbes, Carmen Martín Gaite, Bryce Echenique, Soledad Puértolas, Roberto Bolaño, Antonio Tabucchi, Sergio Pitol or Enrique Vila-Matas, among others -are known to the filer dedicated to Javier Marias, with more than 2,200 pages, is the more bulky-. And better not only to the authors of the books-lemon yellow or other collections.

The rumors, responding to fears in great measure justified, spoke of the possibility that this precious editorial fund of barcelona would go to Madrid. As a precedent, what happened with the file of the Editorial Tusquets, donated by Beatriz de Moura in the National Library of Spain (BNE) in 2017. And the other case, to name just two, that makes the pupa to the defenders of Barcelona City of Literature by UNESCO, it is the priceless cultural background of the files of the mythical literary agency Carmen Balcells, today at the General Archive of the Administration in Alcalá de Henares, sold by Big Mama to the Ministry in 2016.

there is a question of State. At the end of last August, the Party of the Socialists of Catalonia urged a Full parliamentary the Government of Quim Torra to make the decisive actions required for the File Anagram stay in Catalonia. And the administration Torra already moved tab to the subject, but the question is still open and seems not easy to win. Among other things, for the good harmony which have always been the founder of Anagram, Jorge Herralde, and his wife, Lali Gubern (a key part of the historical editorial), with the director of the biblioteca nacional Ana Santos. Thing the old paladin of literary publishing in barcelona does not deny. "We share a good friendship. Ana has done a splendid job of aggregation of the funds publishers in the biblioteca nacional," says Herralde. "But that is not yet decided," he said.

on the other hand, the homologous of Santos in Barcelona, the director of the National Library of Catalonia (BNC), Eugènia Serra, who manages the collection of files publishing Heritage Publishers Edited and launched in 2013, also try. Recently, Serra, together with the minister of Culture, Laura Borràs, met with the editor. "Yes, I had a conversation with both," admits Herralde, "and I said exactly the same thing: peace of mind, because there is still nothing decided."

"We are missing at least two years of work sorting and cataloguing of the archive of letters, photographic and production", explains Herralde. Work that focuses Susana Brown with the help of Lali Gubern. "In your time, when everything is classified, presumably in 2021, we will make a consensual decision with Carlo Feltrinelli" ditch Herralde. The son of your old and missing friends Inge and Giangiacomo Feltrinelli and head of the Italian group manages 99% of the shares of Anagram from January 2017.

The only thing certain, at least, is that the intention of the so-called last of the mohicans edition -mote that comes from the celebrated and is now a reference book on the craft Opinions mohicanas that was published in 2001 - is not willing to let this treasure die in the inaccessible deposit of a museum. On the contrary, aspires to be open to researchers and the curious, and even spread it. In that sense, Herralde anticipates a first: "In September of 2019, we will publish a volume with the call logs of the files," he says. The logbooks are an internal document of the house operating ever since. "Are abstracts bi-weekly with the fragments most significant correspondence," he explains. And the volume on which you are already working for Brown and the Government will pick up these fragments in an arc which goes "from my first letter of January 1968 addressed to the director of the Literary Agency to MAKE Marcel Laignoux, to the last letter of the year 2000", explains. Just a button shows that treasure, but priceless, in the form of a book of no more than 150 pages that it will take for title Files Anagram. Blogs 1968-2000.

But, before that, at the beginning of march next, the last of the mohicans published the announced and long-awaited volume of memoirs-even though the publisher refuses to call as well to his writings, almost simultaneously with the celebrations for the 50 anniversary of the foundation of the publishing house. In fact, the first book of Anagram arrived in bookstores on April 23, 1969. Those who know the smart, miscellaneous, and, at the same time, something malicious prose Herralde, through titles such as The observatory editorial (2004), his heartfelt tribute to the author chilean Roberto Bolaño (2005), knows perfectly well that this volume promises, whether or not the a few memories to use.

"it Will be a long book, through a series of texts that I call chips, editorials, reviews, in chronological order, events and editorial history from the beginnings of the Anagram until December 2018", he anticipates. From there that still work not only in the correction, but also in the drafting of the work which will include even their recent intervention at the FIL of Guadalajara. It may be that the volume is close to 400 pages and will be titled A day in the life of an editor. Already seems of movie, but the thing will have crumb because "we will have to read the subtitle," jokes Herralde with mischief. "And other fundamental statements", tell you in a body of letter less.

it is Not nor will it be the first time that different institutions -local, regional or state, each with its own priorities and budgets - are attempting to be the legacy of a figure of the culture. Yesterday same family of the architect José Antonio Coderch, whose files will go to the Reina Sofia Museum, clarified that he has not received money by depositing in the museum of madrid, the legacy of Coderch. The decision was taken because the centre showed their willingness to pay the cost of the cleanup and rehabilitation of the file so "immediate", since a large part of the documents are fungi "is in danger of destruction in a short time". The Generalitat, which also showed his interest in the files, proposed to do the cleaning "for a period of three years." The decision is another setback to the Catalan institutions, after which the roles of the 'super' Carmen Balcells, the file the editorial Tusquets and the photographer Agustí Centelles were sold to the Ministry of Culture, which led to his departure from Catalonia.

According to the criteria of