Resistance in the ’Oppressor’s’ Tongue
English-Language Welsh Writers and Spanish-Language Catalan Writers
9781837723423
Distributed for University of Wales Press
Resistance in the ’Oppressor’s’ Tongue
English-Language Welsh Writers and Spanish-Language Catalan Writers
Explores parallels between the political impact of Welsh and Catalan writers who choose to write in English and Spanish versus Welsh and Catalan.
This book examines works by selected Welsh authors who write in English and Catalan authors who write in Spanish. Wales and Catalonia are both small stateless nations where the national language is often considered integral to the nation’s nationalism and identity. Choice of language for a writer in these nations is therefore often considered to be a political choice, and writers who choose to write in English or Spanish are often criticized, accused of selling out, or not considered as part of Welsh or Catalan literature. Though the situation is changing in both places, these views are still widely held. Resistance in the 'Oppressor’s' Tongue looks at some of those authors who either cannot or have chosen not to write in Welsh/Catalan and asks whether they can be said to produce “resistance literature” on behalf of their nations. Resistance literature was originally defined as literature that was written as part of a political struggle—usually an independence movement—but the definition has been expanded to include literature that exposes and protests against inequality and uneven power dynamics of all kinds. This book argues that the works examined can all be interpreted as works of resistance literature, albeit in different ways and to varying degrees.
This book examines works by selected Welsh authors who write in English and Catalan authors who write in Spanish. Wales and Catalonia are both small stateless nations where the national language is often considered integral to the nation’s nationalism and identity. Choice of language for a writer in these nations is therefore often considered to be a political choice, and writers who choose to write in English or Spanish are often criticized, accused of selling out, or not considered as part of Welsh or Catalan literature. Though the situation is changing in both places, these views are still widely held. Resistance in the 'Oppressor’s' Tongue looks at some of those authors who either cannot or have chosen not to write in Welsh/Catalan and asks whether they can be said to produce “resistance literature” on behalf of their nations. Resistance literature was originally defined as literature that was written as part of a political struggle—usually an independence movement—but the definition has been expanded to include literature that exposes and protests against inequality and uneven power dynamics of all kinds. This book argues that the works examined can all be interpreted as works of resistance literature, albeit in different ways and to varying degrees.
264 pages | 5.43 x 8.5 | © 2026
Language and Linguistics: Language History and Language Universals
Literature and Literary Criticism: General Criticism and Critical Theory
Political Science: Political Behavior and Public Opinion
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Note on Terminology
Introduction
A Brief History of Wales and Catalonia
The Development of Resistance Literature Theory
Resistance Literature Approach
Resistance Theory in Wales and Catalonia
Types of Resistance
Choice of Authors
Chapter 1 – Harri Webb and ‘The Saga of Welsh Resistance’
Introduction
Wales as a Colony
Resistance
Wales United
A Popular Poet
Recovering History
Chapter 2 – ‘The darker our twilight hours, the more blessed will be the dawn of those who will come after us’: Catalonia – the Nation that was and the State that will be
Introduction
Catalan National Traditions
Catalonia Versus Castile
Oppression of Catalans
A People’s Resistance
Chapter 3 – ‘Armed but not in the old way’: The Seeds of Hope in R. S. Thomas
Introduction
Wales and England in R. S. Thomas’s work
A Living Nation?
Speaking Truth to Power
What is a Welshman? – Resistance or Mere Invective?
Enclaves of Resistance
Chapter 4 – Recovering History, Recovering Writers - Eduardo Mendoza’s La Ciudad de los Prodigios and Rhys Davies’s Rhondda Trilogy
Introduction
The State of their Nations
Linking Struggles
Figures of Resistance
Historical Passages
Types of Resistance
Epilogue - A Growing Need for Resistance Literature?
Bibliography
List of abbreviations
Note on Terminology
Introduction
A Brief History of Wales and Catalonia
The Development of Resistance Literature Theory
Resistance Literature Approach
Resistance Theory in Wales and Catalonia
Types of Resistance
Choice of Authors
Chapter 1 – Harri Webb and ‘The Saga of Welsh Resistance’
Introduction
Wales as a Colony
Resistance
Wales United
A Popular Poet
Recovering History
Chapter 2 – ‘The darker our twilight hours, the more blessed will be the dawn of those who will come after us’: Catalonia – the Nation that was and the State that will be
Introduction
Catalan National Traditions
Catalonia Versus Castile
Oppression of Catalans
A People’s Resistance
Chapter 3 – ‘Armed but not in the old way’: The Seeds of Hope in R. S. Thomas
Introduction
Wales and England in R. S. Thomas’s work
A Living Nation?
Speaking Truth to Power
What is a Welshman? – Resistance or Mere Invective?
Enclaves of Resistance
Chapter 4 – Recovering History, Recovering Writers - Eduardo Mendoza’s La Ciudad de los Prodigios and Rhys Davies’s Rhondda Trilogy
Introduction
The State of their Nations
Linking Struggles
Figures of Resistance
Historical Passages
Types of Resistance
Epilogue - A Growing Need for Resistance Literature?
Bibliography