Catalan Literature: Notable Authors and Works
Mercè Rodoreda (1908-1983)
Key Works:
- Aloma (1937)
- La plaça del Diamant (The Time of the Doves) (1962)
- El carrer de les Camèlies (Camellia Street) (1966)
- Mirall trencat (A Broken Mirror) (1974)
- La mort i la primavera (Death in Spring) (1986)
Rodoreda also wrote collections of short stories, such as Vint-i-dos contes (Twenty-two Stories) (1958). Her novels are constructed with a literary technique that uses spoken language, not solemn, in the first person. The direct voice of the protagonist reaches the reader. She uses interior monologue, demanding a living, colloquial language. She doesn’t abandon the standard register, but incorporates poetic imagery within tragedy. Recurring symbols include flower gardens, pigeons, scales, and mirrors. Scarce ideological and historicist elements appear in her first major work, instead focusing on human experiences.
Pere Calders (1912-1994)
Calders began writing and drawing for newspapers and magazines in the 1930s. In 1936, he published his first compilation of tales, El primer arlequí (The First Harlequin). Exiled to Mexico, he wrote works appreciated by critics. He returned to Catalonia, working for publishers and resuming literary production of stories and novels. His work can be divided into collections of short stories and novels with a Mexican atmosphere. Most of his stories feature anonymous characters in almost impossible situations, experiencing extraordinary events. Through this reduction to the absurd, Calders creates a distance that allows him to analyze the human condition with intelligent humor and irony, always full of humanity. He departs from psychological narratives and enters the realm of fiction, influenced by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe.
Salvador Espriu (1913-1985)
Born in Santa Coloma de Farners. Childhood spent in the seaside town of Arenys de Mar and then Barcelona. In 1930, he joined the University of Barcelona, where he studied law and history. He died in 1985.
Early Novels:
- El doctor Rip (Doctor Rip) (1931)
- Laia (1932)
Espriu later focused on short story collections:
- Aspectes (Aspects) (1934)
- Ariadna al laberint grotesc (Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth) (1935)
- Letizia (1937)
He abandoned conventional narrative, leaning towards extreme and artificial registers, sometimes lyrical and often grotesque and satirical. Among his main themes are the implacability of death, injustice, and the absurdity of life, understood as a labyrinth of absurd situations and people. He features gaps in psychology, outlandish characters that move like puppets, and almost unpronounceable names. These effects achieve progress in stylistic artifice, resulting from a great effort of concentration on language.
Josep Pla (1897-1981)
Born in Palafrugell, the son of wealthy rural landowners. He studied law in Barcelona but always remained closely linked to his region. He favored the practice of journalism. He traveled extensively and went into exile in Italy and Marseille. Due to his conservative positions, he resumed the creation of fiction and journalism in Castilian. Condescending to Franco, he was denied the honors of Catalan literature. He died in 1981.
Author of extensive work encompassing a range of major literary genres and subgenres, often combined and almost always structured around journalism.
Classification of his work:
- Narrative: Aigua de mar (Seawater) (1966), El carrer estret (The Narrow Street) (1951).
- Memoirs: Primera volada (First Flight) (1925), Barcelona, una discussió entranyable (Barcelona, an Intimate Discussion), El quadern gris (The Gray Notebook) (1966), and Notes per a Sílvia (Notes for Silvia) (1974).
- Biographies: Homenots (1958-62).
- Travel: Viatge a Catalunya (Travel to Catalonia) (1934) and Rússia (Russia) (1925).
- Essay: Els pagesos (Farmers) (1952).
El quadern gris (The Gray Notebook), a comprehensive book published in 1966, takes the form of a diary, reporting news, thoughts, pictures, and some narrative. It presents a reworking, despite the appearance of sincerity, to make it more entertaining and lively to read. The main theme is the process of formation of a young person fleeing youth and idealism to maturity. It consists of:
- A student living in Palafrugell on holiday, observing the populace.
- Student life in Barcelona.
- Other Catalans of the moment.
- Universal authors.
Style: Pla encompasses all literary genres in pursuit of his objective: to explain reality, keep track of things, and instruct while delighting. He is stubborn in his escape from involvement, both Romantic and Modernist/Noucentista. Pla aims for an understandable, accurate, and simple style. He uses few localisms, archaisms, or overly-colloquial language.