Xerais and Galaxia agree to publish bilingual Galician anthology

Edicións Xerais and Editorial Galaxia, the two main commercial publishers in Galicia, have agreed to publish together a bilingual Galician-English anthology of Galician literature covering 800 years in 55 texts.

The anthology will cover the period from 1196, the date of the earliest written text, to 1981, passing through the Middle Ages (the medieval cantigas or songs), folk literature, the 19th-century Galician revival and the prose and poetry of the 20th century either side of the Spanish Civil War.

The purpose of the anthology is to introduce the general reader to the history of Galician literature, literature written in Galician and (during the Middle Ages) Galician-Portuguese, by means of parallel Galician-English texts.

The editor is Jonathan Dunne. All 55 texts that make up the anthology are chosen by Galician writers and academics from an author (such as Ánxel Fole), from a book (such as Cousas or Follas novas) or from a genre (such as the famous cantigas de amigo or songs of a friend).

The anthology is due for publication in the spring of 2010!