At the conference held on 29 May, after receiving the Academy 111 Award, which until recently was the literary mention Beterriko Liburua, there was talk of the changes that have taken place between the Martutene books. “I think literature should ask for an effort. In our time, there was a lot of humility and hypocrisy, but now we see too much naturalness. You can say, for example, ‘Joyce bored me and I’ve left him’, but that’s not right. There are works that, even if it costs them, must be taken up.” The words were taken conscious of the effort that the novel Martutene demands of the reader, and stated that this effort can still be demanded in the Basque literature.

Saizarbitoria set out to make the work easier in Martutene, but could not. “In fact, that’s why I don’t deserve any merit or any prize, because I do, as many readers have guessed, what my obsession asks me to do. I don't do it for a compromise, I don't work to save culture or Euskera. I do so to enlighten myself, to discover my truth, because my obsession demands it from me.”

The writer also talked about the literary awards: “Literature does not need help, it needs respect, and many times there are literary prizes, among them the officers, that do not respect the guarantees of the writer when making them.”

Complete chronicle in 111akademia.com.