Montserrat Abelló i Soler

Montserrat Abelló i Soler (February 1, 1918 – September 9, 2014)^[1] was a Catalan poet and translator. During the Spanish Civil War, she lived in exile in France, England and Chile.

Translations

English to Catalan

A graduate in English philology, Abelló i Soler has produced a number of notable translations into Catalan of English writers and poets including:

• Sylvia Plath
• Dylan Thomas
• E.M. Forster
• Iris Murdoch
• Mohsen Emadi

Catalan to English

Abelló i Soler has also produced translations from Catalan to English of writers including:

• Salvador Espriu
• Mercè Rodoreda
• Maria Àngels Anglada
• Maria Mercè Marçal
• Olga Xirinacs Díaz

Written works

Abelló i Soler has also written a number of books of poetry:

• Vida diària ("Daily life") (1963)
• Vida diària: Paraules no dites ("Daily Life: Words not said") (1981)
• El blat del temps ("The Wheat of Time") (1986)
• Foc a les mans ("Fire in Hand") (1990)
• L’arrel de l’aigua ("The Root of Water") (1995)
• Son màscares que m’emprovo ("Masks of Sleep that I Try") (1995)
• Dins l’esfera del temps ("In the Sphere of Time") (1998) which won the Gold Critica Serra prize in 1999.
• Asseguda escrivint ("Seated Writing") (2004)
• Memoria de tu i de mi ("Memories of You and Me") (2006)

In 2002, her poetry was compiled in Al cor de les paraules: obra poètica 1963-2002 (I"n the Heart of Words: Poetic Works 1963-2002"), which in 2003 won several Catalan literary prizes.

She has also contributed to anthologies of writing and poetry:

• Cares a la finestra: 20 dones poetes de parla anglesa del segle XX ("Faces in the Window: 20 English Women Poets of the 20th century") (1993)
• Cartografies del desig: Quinze escriptores i el seu món ("Cartography of Desire: Fifteen writers and their world") (1998)
• Memoria de l’aigua: Onze escriptores i el seu món ("Memories of Water: Eleven writers and their world") (1999)
• Paisatge emergent ("Emergent Landscape") (1999).

Awards

• "Creu de Sant Jordi" (the Cross of Saint George) for her work as a translator (1998).
• "Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes" (Catalan Letters Lifetime Achievement Award) (2008).

External links

• Montserrat Abelló at the Association of Catalan Language Writers (AELC). In English, Catalan and Spanish
• Webpage devoted to Montserrat Abelló at LletrA (UOC), Catalan Literature Online) (English)

Sources

• Diccionari de la Literatura Catalana, 2008

References