Joan Fuster

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joan Fuster i Ortells

Joan Fuster i Ortells ( Sueca, b. 1922 – d. June 21, 1992 ) was a Valencian writer who wrote in the medium of the Catalan language. He is best-known for his essays Nosaltres els valencians ("We the Valencians") (1962), Qüestió de Noms ("Matter of names"), Diccionari per a Ociosos ("Dictionary for idlers") (1963), etc, he was a leader of Valencian contemporary nationalism and in the definition of the Catalan Countries (Catalan: Països Catalans). Starting from 1960s he became one civic referent at the Valencian Country in the movement of reestablishment of the catalan culture.

The 1947 he graduated in law and he took a doctor's degree in Catalan philology in 1985. From 1946 to 1956 He co-directed the magazine Verb. Of his first books, all verses, the highlight is Escrit per al silenci ("Written for the silence") (1954). The 1952 began in Levant, of Valencia, his collaborations in the press, that was one of his more prominent facets and that he would keep on in Destino and in La Vanguardia.

With El descrèdit de la Realitat ("The discredit of reality") (1955) he started a brilliant career as an essayist, with vast thematic breadth, in an incisive style, with precise adjectivation. Another aspect of his work was that belonging to erudition, the story and the literary reviewal, that he squared with anthologies. His dedication to Valencian themes culminated in 1962 with the publication of Nosaltres els valencians ("We, the Valencians"), Qüestió de Noms ("Matter of names") and El País Valenciano ("The Valencian Country"), basic books for on the history, culture and national identity problems in the Land of Valencia.

In these books Fuster affirms that to straighten up the autochthonous culture of the Land of Valencia it's needed to tighten the relationships with the another territories of catalan speech, bringing a cultural community into existence or, enclosure, policy: the Catalan Countries.

He continued inside this subject matter to Raimon (1964), Combustible per a falles ("Combustible for falles") (1967) and Ara o Mai ("Now or Never") (1981), among others. A part of his numerous studies and erudite articles, historic, biographical and journeys, It has been picked up in the I and III tomes of the Obres completes ("Complete Works"), and the Diari ("Daily") 1952-1960 occupies second volume.

Within the essay's field, He published Figures del temps ("Figures of times"), Yxart award (1957), Judicis Finals ("Final Judgments") (1960), Diccionari per a ociosos ("Dictionary for idlers") (1964), Causar-se d'esperar ("Cause oneself of waiting") (1965) , L'home, mesura de totes les coses ("The Man, measure of all the things") (1967), etc, always within the tradition of moral root of classical humanism close to the moralists and French reformers (from Montaigne to the encyclopedists), critic, sceptic and with a corrosive humor. Inside the works of history, of criticism and of literary divulgation he published La Poesia Catalana ("The Catalan Poetry") (1956), Poetes, Moriscos i Capellans ("Poets, Moorish and cures") (1962), Heretgies, Revoltes i Sermons ("Heresies, revolts and sermons") (1968) and Literatura Catalana Contemporània ("Contemporary Catalan Literature") (1972), in addition to three extensive prologues in the works of Joan Salvat Papasseit (1962), Salvador Espriu (1963) and Josep Pla (1966), joined together in Contra el Noucentisme ("Athwart the Noucentisme") (1978). Also he wrote letters of songs for Lluís Llach.

Fuster is the more considerable Catalan essayist of the generations appeared after the Spanish Civil War, with a force that passed over the literary ambit and was projected on the cultural and civilian life of the Catalan Countries, the unitary conscience of which, mightily, he contributed to create.

He received the Premi d’Honor de les Lletres Catalanes ("Catalan Letters Award") (1975) and also, the year 1983, the Medalla d’Or de la Generalitat de Catalunya ("Gold Medal of Catalonia's Generality"). In 1984 was named doctor honoris causa of the University of Barcelona, in 1986, professor of literature in the University of Valencia. The 1987 collected his poetry in Set llibres de versos ("Seven books of verses"). Consequence of the work of research of the last few years are the studies joined together in Llibres i problemes del Renaixentisme ("Books and problems of the Renaissance") (1989). The 1994 were edited the works Fuster Inèdit ("Unpublished Fuster") and Fuster Sabàtic ("Sabbatical Fuster").