Joan Colomines i Puig (Barcelona, 1922-2011) studied Medicine, Philosophy and Letters. In 1962 he published his first book of poems A tres veus (In Three Voices), after which came Dos llibres: Suburbis i Cançons al meu país (Two Books: Suburbs and Songs to My Country, 1964), La vida a cada pas (Life at Every Step, 1968) and El jardí (The Garden, 1982). His complete poetic work was published in the book Autoretrat (Self Portrait, 1986). He founded the review Poemes in 1963 and was involved in some of the milestone events of Catalan poetry in the final years of the Franco dictatorship, for example establishing the Amadeu Oller Prize. He also wrote books aimed at laying the foundations for setting to rights the intellectual climate in Catalonia at this time. Cap a un nou, real i necessari moviment poètic (Towards a New, Real and Necessary Poetic Movement, 1971) is one example. His poetry addresses collective issues although from the standpoint of personal experiences.

He has also written the memoirs El compromís de viure: apunts de memòria, III (The Commitment to Live: Notes from Memory III, 1999) and Crònica de l'antifranquisme a Catalunya (A Chronicle of the Anti-Franco Movement in Catalonia, 2003), among other works.

He has received prizes and distinctions, notable among them being the Sant Jordi (Saint George) Cross in 1998. He is also interested in the fields of political writing, theatre and translation.

He was a member of AELC (Association of Catalan Language Writers).


Web page: Xulio Ricardo Trigo
Translation: Julie Wark.