My friend Francisco Perez Navarro, who has died aged 96, was a writer and teacher who loved lively conversation, especially when he could share his passion for art and culture over a glass of beer or wine. He wrote the first introduction to Samuel Beckett’s novels and plays for a Spanish audience, and translated the Irish writer’s challenging narrative How It Is into Castilian.
Francisco was born in Madrid, to Saturnino Pérez González, a doctor, and Dolores Navarro de la Torre, who ran a dry cleaning shop. When Spain’s civil war broke out, he was sent, aged 11, to stay with his grandparents in Valsain, near Segovia. Unfortunately the area quickly became the scene of fierce fighting, and it would remain a frontline until the end of the war.
Foreshadowing his future career, Francisco became a teacher to younger children in the village. In quieter spells he would also earn a few pesetas by writing letters for illiterate soldiers.
