"Non mina, han mihia" the saying goes. "Tongue ever turns to the aching tooth," says the english one, which being more general it is more specific. When pain is felt, in addition to the extremities of the body, language is also directed towards the suffering, and with it, literature. Apparently, the language needs the tongue for pain relief, and the word does not go away from that tongue, and the word is literature, and pain and desire for relief. The tale "Hagina" by Jose Luis Otamendi has titled this anthology of stories about the Basque conflict. As this author did, other 18 writers have picked up the tooth that the pain had pulled out, and had thrown into the river, and there, like stones, have been rolling until they have arrived turned into sea pearls to our literature ocean.
