Kathleen McNerney

Roots and Branches: Maria-Mercè Marçal and the Casa Elizalde Performances

During the springtimes of 1997 and 1998, a team of artists presented a series of performances in Barcelonas Casa Elizalde on the basis of womens artistic work in various fields, and a search for relevant women artists of the past. Poetry dominated, but there were also theater performances, music, and visual arts. Araceli Bruch, along with Marcal and others, organized these cycles of recitals, theater, music, and dance. Teamwork and collaboration, along with a search for literary and artistic roots, are the two axes of this body of work. I explore some of the connections in time and space described in these works, all attempts at filling the apparent vacuum of foremothers that Marcal called a literary «orfanesa de mare.» The writers I discuss include some of Catalonias finest, such as Maria-Antonia Salva and Caterina Albert, but also many from other cultures who represent cross-influences, friendships, and mentoring.