Antoni Clapés (Sabadell, 1948) is a poet, translator, literary critic and editor.

He studied Economic Sciences at the University of Barcelona and, between 1970 and 1974, worked to establish and manage the contemporary art gallery Sala Tres. In 1976 he opened the bookshop Els dies a Sabadell, after which he founded the publishing house Les edicions dels dies (1981–1986). In 1989 he opened Cafè Central and is still director of this independent publishing project devoted to poetry.

He has been writing poetry and texts related with poetry since 1964 and is the author of an extensive poetic oeuvre including such titles as Crepuscle de mots, winner of the 1989 Joan Alcover Prize, Trànsit (1992), A frec (1994), Matèria d’ombres (1995), Tagrera (1997), Carnet (1999), in nuce (2000), Llavors abandonaries Greifswald (2001), Destret (2003); Alta Provença (2005), Miro de veure-hi (2007), La llum i el no-res (2009), winner of the 2010 Quima Jaume of Cadaqués Prize and the 2010 Cavall Verd - Josep M. Llompart Prize, and L'arquitectura de la llum (2012). His poems have been translated into many languages and he has also won prizes for his translations, among them the 2012 Mots Passants and Cavall Verd - Rafel Jaume awards for his translation of Denise Desautels’ Tombeau de Lou. He has also translated other works from French, as well as Pietro Civitareale’s poems from the Italian in Metamorfosi del silenci (Metamorphosis of Silence).

He has written for the literary pages of Avui, La Vanguardia, The Barcelona Review, Reduccions, Transversal, Caràcters, and presently reviews poetry in Sonograma.

He is a honorary member of Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (AELC, Association of Catalan Language Writers).

Web page: Toni Terrades for AELC.
Documentation: Antoni Clapés.
Photographs: © Dolors Udina.
Translated by Julie Wark.