AUTHORS

INTRODUCTION

I. SOCIOCULTURAL REALITY AND PRESENT-DAY BERTSOLARITZA

II. ACHIEVING A BALANCE AMONGST THE CHALLENGES FACING BERTSOLARITZA: KEYS TO THE CREATIVITY OF THE TRADITION

III. THE PROCESS OF CREATING IMPROVISED BERTSOS

IV. PROPOSALS FOR A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

1.The dead-end analysis of oral art in terms of written poetics

1.1. Text as a pretext

1.2. The text in context: co-text and situation

2. Enchantment by .but lack of charm of the oralist theory

3. A new theoretical framework for improvised bertsolaritza

V. GLOSSARY

1 The dead-end analysis of oral art in terms of written poetics

It is not difficult, in studies of bertsolaritza, to find references to the specificity of the art form, specially regarding its oral and improvised character. The following two quotes suffice to exemplify:

Indeed, the aspect that most powerfully attracts one’s attention in Basque oral literature is the improvised manifestation thereof. An improvisation perfect in its procedure, on the one hand and, on the other, frankly splendid in its vivacity, both in term of its territorial dissemination and of the great esteem in which the people hold their local improviser of their oral tradition.(21)

The improvising bertsolari, as well as poet and singer is also orator. This rhetoric technique is essential for the improvised song. The most impressive thing is that the improvising bertsolari executes all the rhetoric exercises –inventing the arguments, arranging them in a suitable order and formulating them in a beautiful way- simultaneously in the few seconds at his disposal.(22)

Despite these and other statements, what tends to happen in studies of improvised bertsolaritza, is the same as Rainer Friedrich’s comments about Albert Lord in reference to Homeric rhetoric:

After proclaiming their belief in the oral Homer, Homerists would proceed to interpret Homer applying the canon of traditional literary criticism. This prompted Lord to warn that unless Homerists were willing “to understand oral poetics” and “learn from the experience of other oral traditional poetries… `oral´ is only an empty label and `traditionally´ is devoid of sense. Together they form merely a façade behind which scholarship can continue to apply the poetics of written literature”(23).

Effectively, despite abundant statements to the effect that the oral and improvised character of bertsolaritza is important, the fact is that most studies of the subject have been carried out from the perspective of written poetics theory.

The result is always the same: the improvised bertso is rarely deemed to be a piece of value. The majority of improvised bertsos are, judged from the viewpoint of written poetry, of a low poetic level.