Celebrate International Women’s Day by discovering women writers who have left their mark on the city.
Barcelona is one of the world’s literary paradises. Recognised by UNESCO as a city of literature, the city has got over 300 bookshops, its own space for municipal publications in the shape of Barcelona Llibres, and for many decades has been considered home by numerous writers.
It might be the smell of its streets, the music in its parks, the shade gifted by the city’s most iconic buildings or all those things put together. Barcelona oozes an immeasurable magic which awakens innate talent among literary creators. It’s no coincidence then that countless authors have been born in its neighbourhoods and have left their mark on our history over time. As part of International Women’s Days, here are some of these writers and their work.
Mercedes Abad (1961)
Having graduated as a journalist from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, this narrator and essayist teaches narrative techniques at the writing school at the Ateneu Barcelonès. Abad won the La Sonrisa Vertical award for erotic narrative in 1986 with the book Ligeros libertinajes sabáticos. Besides this prize-winning work, she has written works such as Felicidades conyugales (1989), Sangre (2000), Amigos y fantasmas (2004), El vecino de abajo (2007) and La niña gorda (2014).
Maria Aurèlia Capmany (1918-1991)
In addition to her career as a novelist, playwright and essayist, Capmany stood out as a cultural activist, feminist and anti-Francoist. She won the Joanot Martorell prize in 1948 with El cel no és transparent. Twenty years later, she received the Premi Sant Jordi for best novel thanks to Un lloc entre els morts. Her political activity saw her take part in initiatives such as the Caputxinada anti-Francoist assembly, devote articles to Catalan culture and society and write the books on historical memory Pedres de toc, Mala memòria and Això era i no era.
Maria Espasa (1973)
This creator’s trajectory also goes beyond books. Author of La dona que es va perdre (2012) and El dia del cèrvol (2016), Espasa has trodden a path as a romance philologist, agent for street artists, scriptwriter for TV and exhibitions, reporter, critic and book presenter for programmes on television and radio. She is also a translator, writing teacher and regular contributor with the newspaper Ara. In addition, from 2016 to 2019 she coordinated the UNESCO City of Literature office at the City Council.
Clara Janés (1940)
Daughter of the publisher Josep Janés, this author has a passion for words in her blood. Having graduated in philosophy and the arts, Janés is a translator specialising in the Czech language, an essayist, novelist and poet. She stands out in the latter, with collections such as Isla del suicidio, La noche de Abel Micheli, Antología personal (1959-1979), Kampa: Poesía, música y voz and Diván del ópalo de fuego. In 1972 she won the City of Barcelona Award for her biography La vida callada de Federico Mompou. In 1997 she won the Premio Nacional a la Obra de un Traductor.
Núria Martínez-Vernís (1976)
With her first collection, L’acròbata tampoc no en sortirà il·lès (2000), this poet wowed the critics and won the Amadeu Oller prize and the literary award in memory of Anna Dodas. Her second book, Quantes mentides fan una sola veritat (2003) was of the same pedigree, winning her the Premi Josep M. López-Picó. Along with other poets, Martínez-Vernís has created Tucson, a literary and physical space between the Mercat de l’Abaceria and C/ Còrsega. The author has taken part in various festival and poetry recitals and been published by magazines such as Pèl capell and fanzines such as Cataclístics.
Esther Tusquets (1936-2012)
Born just after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Tusquets penned a revolutionary path in the world of words. Writer, publisher, literature teacher and essayist, she was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi in 2005. Tusquets headed the Lumen publishing company for forty years, publishing authors such as Ana Maria Matute, Virgina Woolf, James Joyce and Susan Sontag. She is the author of novels such as La trilogía del mar, narratives, books of essays and memoirs, such as Confesiones de una editora un poco mentirosa.
Barcelona, city of literature
These women writers are just a small example of the great literary wealth and talent in Barcelona, which has given us authors such as Caminals, Laura Freixas, Felícia Fuster, Ana María Matute, Anna Murià, Irene Polo, Mercè Rodoreda, Montserrat Roig, Cèlia Sunyol and Tina Vallès. If you want to try Barcelona’s literature in all its fullness, discover all the women writers born in the city!