Leonor Courtoisie: ‘A literary residency at Vil·la Joana amplifies the gaze and transforms the perception of time’

Leonor Courtoisie, Uruguayan writer and performing artist, has recently concluded her literary residency at Vil·la Joana. During the stay she has been working on a narrative project that she started in 2018, inspired by the story of a journalist from her country who lived for many years in the Catalan capital. As she explains, the residence has been fundamental to develop this work, allowing her to be close to the spaces, people and stories that she investigates for her book.

The calm and serenity of  Vil·la Joana have contributed to create an atmosphere of reflection and introspection that has facilitated, she says, the creative work. ‘The immense, green view from the balconies, the calm… all this amplifies the view and transforms the perception of time’… Moreover, its proximity to the city has allowed her to establish connections with her sources of inspiration, offering her a direct experience that she has found indispensable: ‘When it comes to research, it is essential to be present in the territory’.

During the residency, Courtoisie has revised and restructured much of her material, describing her creative process as ‘a constant starting over, rewriting and polishing the text’. Moreover, she has had the opportunity to share experiences with other creators, such as the poet Juan Andrés García Román, with whom she has established a fruitful relationship of literary exchange.

For Courtoisie, her stay in Barcelona has not only been an opportunity to advance her literary project, but also to explore the city and enrich her perspective: she says that her visits to the neighbourhoods and the interaction with the people have been key to getting to know the cultural complexity of Barcelona, and she states that she left ‘with more questions than answers’.

Currently, the writer from Montevideo is in the process of rewriting her book, while she observes how two of her recent publications are being translated into other languages and are making their way to other countries. ‘The paths of books are strange, but I always say that the best thing is for them to circulate and for the literary ecosystem to keep the readings flowing. I believe that as a writer this is not my job, I have done nothing but write and I will continue to do so’, concludes Courtoisie.

For more information about the Vil·la Joana literary residencies, click here.