Ipui onac / Fábulas de Bizenta Mogel & La fiesta en la habitación de al lado of Mariasun Landa

Abstract

Bizenta Antonia Mogel Elgezabal (1772-1854) was the first woman to publish a book in the Basque language and, at the same time, the author of the first book belonging to the genre of children’s literature in euskera. Her book Ipui onac, published in 1804, is a translation of Aesop’s fables accompanied by Mogel’s comments that reinforce the book’s didactic thrust. The success enjoyed by Mogel’s book can be considered the starting point of the tradition in the Basque letters within which women create a name for themselves by writing works of literature addressed to children. Mariasun Landa Etxebeste (1949) is today one of the most translated writers from the Basque Country. Like Mogel, Landa is known, first and foremost, for her children’s books. As many Basque female writers, Mogel and Landa have had to face patriarchal limitations on their artistic expression. Their contribution to the genre of children’s literature has allowed these authors to create a space for female writing within Basque letters.