Every chance he gets, he talks about the Basques, our culture, our identity.
Here you have a note about him published by IBLNews:
Mark Kurlansky Speaks at the Commonwealth Club
Mark Kurlansky, author of "The Big Oyster" spoke with Literary Director Barbara Lane at the Commonwealth Club Tuesday evening, March 28th. Often called a "research addict," Kurlansky spoke about his latest book as well as his passion for the Basques.
Sábado, 1 abril 2006
EUSKOSARE.ORG / Idoya Urruty
April 1, 2006
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum, bringing 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy. It is open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. With nearly all 80 seats filled, author Mark Kurlansky was the evening's guest of honor and spoke with Literary Director Barbara Lane about his popular books and his experiences as a journalist in many parts of the world.
In reference to his popular books Cod and Salt, Kurlansky stated, "What I look for in a book is telling a good story and a story that has some kind of meaning or relevance..." Kurlansky has been known to use a single food item as a lens through which to view the world. His latest effort, The Big Oyster, takes readers from the island hunting ground of the Lenape Indians to the death of the oyster beds and the rise of America's environmental movement.
In addition to speaking about his most recent books, Kurlansky spoke at length about his experiences with the Basques. In the early 1970's, Kurlansky had the idea of going to Spain as a free lance journalist to write about the last years of the demise of Franco. When he went to Madrid and found that nothing was really going on. He stated, "Everyone was waiting for Franco to die." While nothing interesting was going on in Madrid, he went to the Basque Country and found it to be one of the most beautiful places in the world with a distinct culture and distinct people unlike anyone else. He was immediately drawn to it and has gone back regularly ever since. He wrote the book The Basque History of the World, which is a wonderful introduction of the Basques.
Kurlansky spoke about the children's book he wrote and illustrated: The Girl Who Swam to Euskadi. The idea to write this book which is in English and Basque came about from a Bilbao newspaper that had asked him to create it as a tool for teaching English to Basque children. He then realized it would also work the other way around. Kurlansky commented, “I wrote a story that people in America would enjoy and also for the Basque Americans who are really trying to teach Basque to their kids. I like the way it turned it.” All proceeds of this book are going towards the building of an International Basque Cultural Center in New York City. Kurlansky told the audience, "We are trying to have a place in New York that exhibits Basque culture for non-Basques; where you can see shows of the sculptures of Eduardo Chillida, concerts by Basque musicians, go to see very rich culture. New York is a place where there are lots of these cultural institutions, Scandinavians have them - places where you can go and see the culture of different peoples. I think it would be great to have this place where you could see Basque artists and Basque musicians."
Mark Kurlansky currently lives in New York with his wife and 5 year-old daughter.
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