“A l’atzar agraeixo tres dons: haver nascut dona, de classe baixa i nació oprimida. I el tèrbol atzur de ser tres voltes rebel.” [I am grateful to fate for three gifts: to have been born a woman, from the working class and from an oppressed nation. And the clouded azure of being a rebel three times over]. These famous lines define this extraordinarily talented poet, translator and storyteller. They form part of the poem Divisa and appear in Cau de llunes, which was published in 1976 with a prologue by Joan Brossa and won the Carles Riba Prize. She came to Barcelona in 1969 to study at the University of Barcelona, where she earned a degree in classical philosophy. Her prolific work dealt with issues that were absent from Catalan literature, such as love between women, something that was unheard of in Catalan literature until the publication of her collection of poems Terra de Mai [Neverland]. She won various prizes, such as the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes award (1996) for her novel La Passió segona Renée Vivien [Passion according to Renée Vivien]. Before her premature death at the age of 45, Barcelona City Council presented her with the city’s Medal of Honour. The Vilapicina stop is close to the Turó de la Peira neighbourhood, where her daughter Heura was born.
A poet, translator and storyteller, she combined literature with feminist and anti-fascist activism. Her prolific oeuvre examined issues that were missing from Catalan literature, like the love between women.