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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Carlos BARRAL
(Barcelona, 1928 – 1989)
A poet, political activist, and founder of Seix Barral publishing house and Barral Editores. Author of the works of poetry Metropolitano (1957), Informe personal sobre el alba y acerca de algunas auroras particulares (1970) and Usuras y figuraciones (1973), his books of memoirs –Años de penitencia (1975), Los años sin excusa (1978) and Cuando las horas veloces (1988)– all of which are a valuable testament to twentieth century Barcelona.
George BATAILLE
(Billom, 1897 – Paris, 1962)
French writer and philosopher. His work Le bleu du ciel (1957) is partially set in Barcelona. The author described the events of October 1934 during the revolutionary general strike.
Lluís-Anton BAULENAS
(Barcelona, 1958)
A writer, translator and playwright, he is author of several novels set in the city such as, La felicitat (2001), which tells the story about the construction of Via Laietana, and Quan arribi el pirata i se m'emporti (2013). In his work Amor d'idiota (2003) Baulenas takes the Barcelona post-olympic period as his setting. Among others, he won the 2005 Ramon Llull prize for his work Per un sac d'ossos (2005) and the 2008 Sant Jordi Award for his novel El nas de Mussolini (2009).
Sergi BELBEL
(Terrassa, 1963)
Graduated in Roman and French Philology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, he is an author, director and theatre interpreter. Founder of the Theatre Hall at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and professor of Theatre Studies at the Barcelona Theatre School, he is artistic director at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya and one of the Catalan playwrights with the greatest international standing. In 1994, he won the Serra d’Or Critics Award for his work Després de la pluja (1993), and in 2003, the City of Barcelona teatre Award for directing the work Dissabte, diumenge i dilluns.
Jaume BENAVENTE
(Barcelona, 1958)
Graduated in Fine Arts, he is a writer, novelist, poet, and playwright. Part of the action from his crime novel Lluny d'aquí (2013) is set in the district of Horta.
Josep Maria BENET I JORNET
(Barcelona, 1940)
A playwright and scriptwriter, he is author of an extensive and renowned theatre production. He is also known as the creator and scriptwriter for several successful series produced by Televisió de Catalunya such as Poble Nou, (1993-94), Rosa (1995-1996), Nissaga de Poder (1996-1998), Laberint d'ombres (1998-2000), El cor de la ciutat (2000-2009) and Ventdelplà (2005-2010). Winner of numerous awards including the critics Serra d’Or for theatre in the years 986 (for El manuscrit d'Alí Bei), 1990 (for Desig) and 1994 (for E.R), and in 2013 he was awarded the Catalan Literature Award of Honour.
Xavier BENGUEREL
(Barcelona, 1905 – 1990)
A poet, novelist, playwright, and translator, he lived in the Poblenou district up until the age of 35, a fact that is reflected in a significant share of his work. Following the Spanish civil war he was exiled to Chile, and returned to Catalonia in 1955. His novels Suburbi (1936) and Icària, Icària... (1974), are set in the district where he spent his childhood and youth In 1988, he received the Catalan Literature Award of Honour.
Walter BENJAMIN
(Berlin, 1892 – Portbou, 1940)
A philosopher and essayist, he also excelled as translator producing work by Balzac, Marcel Proust and Charles Baudelaire. In an article entitled “El monopoli estatal de la pornografia” [The State Monopoly on Pornography] from 1927, he describes Barcelona’s newspaper stands with admiration. The city also makes an appearance in other work by the author, such as The Storyteller (1933) and his posthumous essay Paris, Capital of the Nineteenth Century (1981).
Manuel BERTRAN I ORIOLA
(Cardona, 1901 – Barcelona, 1976)
He was born in Cardona, but moved in his childhood to the Gràcia district in Barcelona. Mystic and religious poet, among others he is author of Ciutat de Déu [City of God], published in 1957, and winner of the 1955 City of Barcelona Award.
Max BESORA
(Barcelona, 1980)
Max Besora has published the poetry book L’espectre Electromagnètic (Pagès editors, 2008), and the novels Vulcano (Labreu edicions, 2011), La Tècnica Meravellosa (MalesHerbes, 2014) and Aventures i desventures de l'insòlit Joan Orpí (Males Herbes, 2017), for which he has been awarded a Ciutat de Barcelona Prize. He has participated in the anthologies Els caus secrets: antologia d’escriptors dels Països Catalans posteriors al 1972 (Moll, Mallorca, 2013) and Punts de Fuga: 26 contes sobre viatges en el temps (MalesHerbes, 2015).