FUNDACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 96 - ENGLISH

Featured authors include Raúl Guerra Garrido (1935–2022) , considered a pioneer for his literary and civic commit- ment. His career is represented by titles such as Lectura insólita de El Capital (1977), La carta (1990) and La soledad del ángel de la guarda (2007). He des- cribed the latter as “the purging of my heart”, and it stands as one of the deepest expressions of his solidarity with victims. Fernando Aramburu also occupies a significant place through the creative process behind Patria , now an interna- tional literary phenomenon. The exhibi- tion brings together copies in different languages, including a braille edition, alongside working materials, notebooks, character sketches and scenes revealing how the novel took shape. The display is completed by some of the writer’s awards. Basque-language literature also has a pro- minent presence. In many of these works, ETA is central while victims remain in the background or are entirely absent. This absence is precisely what authors such as Ramón Saizarbitoria and Irati Goikoe- txea reflect upon, with works that expand the literary space devoted to those who suffered terrorist violence. The exhibition will remain open in the Memorial’s temporary exhibition gallery, on the second floor, until 1 November , during the museum’s usual opening hours. A CONVERSATION WITH FERNANDO ARAMBURU ABOUT MAITE The day continued in the afternoon with a literary conversation between Florencio Domínguez and Fernando Aramburu be- fore a large audience at Vitoria’s Ignacio Aldecoa Cultural Centre. The meeting presented Maite , the San Sebastián wri- ter’s latest novel, and commemorated Pa- tria ’s tenth anniversary. Set in San Sebastián during the four days of July 1997 when ETA kidnapped, tor- tured and murdered Popular Party coun- cillor Miguel Ángel Blanco , the novel tells the story of two sisters, Maite and Elene, and a mother who has suffered a stroke. Their family reunion is marked by silences, omissions and the difficulty of facing both intimate truths and the so- cial tension surrounding them. Aramburu creates a work of great emotional inten- sity, populated by characters portrayed “with psychological depth and profound humanity”. The author explained that a novel “con- tains the score that allows the reader to stage the story in their mind”. In Maite , he seeks a balance between fiction and reality, while acknowledging that the historical dimension demands an abso- lute commitment to truth and rigorous research. Comparison with Patria inevitably arose during the discussion. Aramburu joked 76 CULTURE