Francisco García Tortosa facts for kids
Francisco García Tortosa (born September 15, 1937, in La Ñora, Murcia, Spain; died May 19, 2024, in Seville, Andalucía, Spain) was a Spanish University Professor, literary critic, and translator into Spanish. He was known as a top expert on the Irish writer James Joyce. García Tortosa translated Joyce's books and wrote many studies about his work. The Irish writer Ian Gibson called him "Spain's leading expert on Joyce." Gibson also praised his translation of Ulysses, which he did with María Luisa Venegas, calling it "amazing."
Contents
Life and Studies
Early Education and University
Francisco García Tortosa went to primary school in La Ñora, Murcia. His school was in an old army hut that had been used during the Spanish Civil War. He later studied high school in Cehegín and Murcia.
He then went to the University of Salamanca. In 1965, he earned his degree in Modern Philology. This means he studied languages and literature. In 1970, he earned his Ph.D. (a very high university degree). His Ph.D. research was about "Imaginary Journeys in the English Eighteenth Century." He did this research at the British Museum (now the British Library) in London.
Teaching Career
Between 1964 and 1968, he taught Spanish in London at Kingston College and at the University of Leeds.
From 1973 to 1976, he was a professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Then, from 1976 to 2008, he taught at the University of Sevilla. After that, he became a special "Professor Emeritus" there until 2011. This title is given to retired professors who are still highly respected.
Many of his writings about James Joyce are listed in a book called James Joyce in Spain, A Critical Bibliography, 1972-2002.
Lectures and Leadership Roles
Professor García Tortosa gave important talks and taught courses at many universities in Spain. He also lectured at places like the Juan March Foundation. Outside Spain, he spoke at University College, Dublin, and the James Joyce Centre in Dublin. He also lectured in cities like Antwerp, Zürich, and Monaco. In the United States, he spoke at the University of North Carolina, Oregon University, and Northwestern University.
During his career, he guided 32 students through their Ph.D. studies. Many of these studies were about James Joyce.
He also held important leadership jobs. He was Secretary of the Philology department at the University of Santiago de Compostela. He was also Director of the Institute of Languages and Dean of the Philology department at the University of Sevilla. He helped start the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies. He also helped create and direct the journal Philologia Hispalensis. In 1992, he founded the Spanish James Joyce Society. He was its president for life. In 1993, he also helped start the society's journal, Papers on Joyce.
He wrote articles for the culture sections of major Spanish newspapers. These included El País, El Mundo, and ABC.
Francisco García Tortosa passed away in Seville on May 19, 2024, at 86 years old.
His Work and Contributions
Francisco García Tortosa's work focused on three main areas. These were teaching, writing literary criticism, and translating books. A lot of his work was about James Joyce and how Joyce related to Spain.
Rafael I. García-León, who helped run the Iberjoyce website, wrote about García Tortosa. He said that García Tortosa's article "España en Joyce" was a "landmark." This means it was a very important study of Spain's influence on Joyce's books.
The editors of Papers on Joyce also praised him. They said he was a "pioneer" in English studies in Spain for over 40 years. They also noted that his work with Ph.D. students left a "most impressive legacy."
They also said that Joyce studies in Spain would not be the same without him. He had a huge influence in this field.
Translating James Joyce
García Tortosa was the first to see how important "genetic criticism" was for translation. This means looking at how a text changed over time. His translations of Ulysses and "Anna Livia Plurabelle" helped many Spanish speakers read Joyce's works.
Javier Aparicio Maydeu, a professor at Pompeu Fabra University, praised García Tortosa's edition of Ulysses. He said that thanks to García Tortosa, Spanish readers finally had an easy-to-read and affordable Ulysses. It was well-explained and had good background information.
The poet Jenaro Talens also highlighted García Tortosa's translation. He said it had "philological rigour." This means it was very accurate and careful with language. He also praised its ability to keep the "musical skeleton" of Joyce's work. He believed this translation would be a key reference for a long time.
García Tortosa on Joyce's Books
Understanding Joyce's Style
In an interview, García Tortosa explained Joyce's writing style. He said that Joyce's books are very realistic. He compared it to meeting someone new. You don't learn everything about them right away. You learn little by little, and even then, you only see parts of them. He said that reading Joyce's books should be like experiencing life.
Challenges of Translating Joyce
Translating Ulysses was a huge challenge, like an "odyssey." García Tortosa said a translator needs to solve many problems. They also need to know a lot about art, philosophy, and science. The hardest part, he said, was making the translation have the same hints, echoes, and unclear parts as the original.
He believed a good translation should not explain too much. It should keep the unclear parts just as they are in the original book. He said that translators often want to make Ulysses easier to read. But doing so would change what the author intended.
More recently, García Tortosa became very interested in Finnegans Wake. He wrote many articles about this difficult book. He explained that its difficulty comes from it being a continuation of Ulysses. Its writing style is a natural step from the "Circe" part of Ulysses.
See also
In Spanish: Francisco García Tortosa para niños
