“Against everything and everybody”: Translated texts in Star-Books (1975–1982) and the birth of the Spanish counterculture
SergioLobejón Santos and CaminoGutiérrez Lanza
University of León
Abstract
The Star-Books collection, published by Producciones Editoriales S. A. from 1975 to 1982, is a foremost example of the post-Francoist counterculture and one of the best chronicles of this period of Spanish history. The collection became a viable platform for various national and international authors who had remained silenced for decades at a time when books were still subjected to official censorship. Star-Books stood out for its eclectic nature and its rebellious spirit, reflected in the striking covers and themes, which clashed against Francoist orthodoxy. This paper highlights the collection’s role in promoting the counterculture in Spain and sheds light on how censorship operated in this period. Detailed analyses of the sociopolitical context, the Star-Books catalogue, the available censorship materials, and several collection titles show the more permissive nature of post-Francoist censorship.
Late Francoism was characterised by increasing dissent and unrest among the Spanish youth. This incipient movement resulted in increased demand for countercultural texts, many of them translations, which reflected the anxieties of new generations far removed from the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). However, many of these titles were controversial, promoting attitudes, beliefs, and practices openly condemned by the regime (e.g., civil disobedience, drug use, sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, and communism), and often using crude language. Such subjects were progressively introduced through various points of entry, such as tourism, music, and underground comic books, commonly known as comix, normalising their use in published materials from the late 1960s. A main source of resistance was the Barcelona-based collection Star-Books (1975–1982), which published Spanish translations of many key countercultural titles. Although its first issues entered the censorship system before Franco’s death, the collection would remain in the regime’s crosshairs well after the 1978 Spanish Constitution established freedom of speech as a fundamental right.
References
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