Writers and Barcelona
Barcelona has been and keeps being a perfect scene for literary works, a source of inspiration for writers who were born here and a welcoming place for writers from around the world who have described it in their books.
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David CIRICI
(Barcelona, 1954)
A writer and publisher, he worked as a Catalan teacher and a radio and television scriptwriter. He is the author of children's and young people’s stories such as La fàbrica de mentides (1995. Winner of the 1996 Crítics award), El vol de l'oreneta (2015, awarded El Vaixell de Vapor prize), and Molsa (2013, Edebé children's literature award 2012). He won the Sant Jordi novel prize in 2016 for his work El setè àngel (2017).
Alexandre CIRICI
(Barcelona, 1914 – 1983)
Art critic and writer, he is author of an array of prose, from guides and informative books, to essays and memoirs. He is author of books such as Picasso antes de Picasso [Picasso before Picasso] (1946), El arte modernista catalán [Modernist Catalan Art] (1951) and L'art català contemporani [Contemporary Catalan Art] (1970. He won the Lletra d'Or and Serra d'Or prizes for his essay work in 1971). The city guide Barcelona pam a pam (1971, re-edited in 2012) is a classic on the city. With his memoirs El temps barrat (1973) he won the Josep Pla Award in 1974.
Juan Eduardo CIRLOT
(Barcelona, 1916 – 1973)
Poet, composer, and art critic, his written work includes poetry –Canto de la vida muerta (1946), Cosmogonía (1969) and 44 sonetos de amor (1971)– and essays with work such as Diccionario de los ismos (1949), El arte de Gaudí (1950), El mundo del objeto a la luz del surrealismo (1953) and Diccionario de símbolos (1968).
Jordi COCA
(Barcelona, 1947)
Writer and essayist, he publishes works of poetry, essays, novels, theatre plays, and short stories. In 1992, he received the Josep Pla award for his novel La japonesa (1992). Dies meravellosos (1996) recreates Barcelona during the Transition, and Sota la pols (2001), the scenes from post-war Barcelona. This latter work won him the 2000 Sant Jordi Award and the 2002 City of Barcelona award.
Melcior COMES
(Sa Pobla, 1980)
A writer, he has a degree in Law and Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature. He is a regular press contributor for daily newspapers El Punt- Avui, Ara, Diari de Balears and the magazine Caràcters, and a lecturer at the Barcelona Ateneu School of Writing. In 2004, he won the Documenta award for L’estupor que us espera (2005). He is also author of works including El llibre dels plaers immensos (2007), La batalla de Walter Stamm (2008) (which won him the Josep Pla award), and Hotel Indira (2014).
Jorge de COMINGES
(Barcelona, 1945)
Writer and film critic, he is author of the novels Un clavel entre los dientes (1989), Tul ilusión (1993) and Las Adelfas (1997). These books portray, from a critical and humorous point of view, the Catalan bourgeoisie of the time. Between 1989 and 1996, he was chief editor of the magazine Fotogramas, and from 1996, director of literary magazine Qué leer.
Flavia COMPANY
(Buenos Aires, 1963)
Writer and journalist, she graduated in Hispanic studies from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and has been living in Catalonia since 1973. She has been lecturing at the School of Writing since 2006, and for the Master in Literary Creation at Pompeu Fabra University. She contributes to literary supplements for newspapers such as El País, El Periódico de Catalunya and Página 12 (Argentina), and is author of numerous young people’s and adult literature.
Lluïsa CUNILLÉ
(Badalona, 1961)
Author of an extensive, prize winning theatre production, she is one of the most renowned and interpreted playwrights on the contemporary Catalan scene. Among others, she received the Institute of Catalan Arts theatre award in 1997 for her work Accident (1996), the 2005 City of Barcelona theatre award for Barcelona, mapa d'ombres (2004), the 2008 Lletra d'Or award for Après moi, le déluge (2007), and the 2014 Frederic Roda theatre award for Boira (2016).
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Rubén DARÍO
(Metagalpa, 1867 - León 1916)
Poet, journalist, and diplomat. Named "The Prince of Castillian Letters”, he is considered one of the pioneers of the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernism and follows the same ideology as Verlaine, “music above all else”. On 22 December 1898, he landed in Barcelona headed for Madrid, where he influenced young modernists such as Valle-Inclán, Juan Ramón Jiménez, and Jacinto Benavente, who formed part of the “Generation of ‘98”. In 1914 he settled in a house on Carrer Ticià, where everyone assumed he would stay indefinitely, but he had in fact come to work on Song of the Argentine and Other Poems.
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Bernat DESCLOT
(second half of the eighteenth century)
A chronicler, he is author of the book Chronicle of the Reign of King Pedro III of Aragon. Written around 1280, this chronicle by Bernat Desclot is focused on the reigns of James I and the Conqueror, and particularly on his son and successor, Peter the Great (1276-1285).