Josep Pla. viatge a l’amèrica del sud (1957) De les col·laboracions a la revista «destino» al volum En mar (1971)

Abstract

This paper is the result of the research done for the study of Josep Pla’s Viatge a l’Amèrica del Sud (1957), from the volume En Mar (OC 18) 1971, made up from his collaborations for the magazine Destino. In this book, the author presents, with the structure of a diary, the experiences of the trip he made for the magazine between December 1957 and March 1958, and which were published as "Cartas" and articles in the section "Calendario sin fechas”" between January and July 1958. This study has its origins in the interest to show some of the literary projects resulting from the trips Pla made between 1956 and 1960 for the magazine Destino, projects which were already introduced in L’aventura breu i meravellosa com un foc d’encenalls (Josep Pla’s collaborations for Destino, 1956-1960), in 2008, a piece of work for the Master in Catalan Studies: language and Literature and its applications, written by Rosa M. Perez Buendia, the author of this thesis. An important part of the investigation focuses on the analysis of the material for the press which Pla chose, organized, revised and rewrote to develop a story based on a real journey. In the first place, we present the articles published in Destino: an analysis according to the contents and the literary vision of these writings. Also, by comparing them with the original manuscripts, we take into consideration the role of the correctors in the final product. Next, there is an approach to how the book was actually made, referring to the texts Pla had already published and those which had been created for the occasion. As for the texts from Destino, we study which of them the author chose and the order in which they appear in the diary, because, unlike the reports, they followed the route of the voyage made in 1958. We also examine the way they were presented in the book: either reworded or as a report. Regarding the newly created material, we suggest the existence of a travel journal. Finally, through the original manuscripts, we have collected data on the role of editors in the final product. Last but not least, there is the literary study of the book Viatge a l’Amèrica del Sud (1957) which focuses on the newly created diary, taking also into consideration part of what has been analyzed with respect to the texts from Destino and its shaping into a diary. In this paper, apart from the actual study of a book based on Pla’s collaborations for Destino, we raise several questions about the relationship between the writer and the press, specifically the magazine Destino: the conditions under he worked, how he worked and what the relationship with the owner of the magazine, Josep Verges, was like. We also mention other aspects, such as the projects during this period, especially those which refer to the publisher Selecta and the relationship with the publisher Joseph M. Cruzet. We also take into account the political context, both at the time of the trip and at the time when the book was published, in 1971.