Miquel Duran de València (Valencia, 1883 - 1947) was a writer and journalist whose professional life should be viewed from the threefold perspective of his literary, journalistic and militant nationalist activities. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he joined the newly-founded Valencian nationalist movement and, in 1907, he was one of the people entrusted with transforming the political and cultural association València Nova (New Valencia) into the Valencian Regional Centre. It was during this period that he began to write poetry. Hence, in 1906, his poem "Maig llevantí" (Valencian May), was awarded the "Flor Natural" Prize at the first "Festa de les Flors" literary competition, which was held in the Hall of Columns in the old Silk Exchange of Valencia; in 1910 he received the "Flor Natural" (Natural Flower) Prize in the "Jocs Florals" competition in Badalona for "Paraules de consol" (Words of Consolation); in 1913, the "Flor Natural" Prize of the Lo Rat-Penat "Jocs Florals" competition for "El poema de Maria, la bella hortolana" (The Poem of Maria, Beautiful Gardener); and in 1914, the "Eglantina" (Wild Rose) Prize of the Lo Rat-Penat "Jocs Florals" competition. These poems are included in the collections Cordes vibrants (Vibrant Strings, 1919) and Himnes i poemes (Hymns and Poems, 1916).

In 1910 he went to live in Sabadell, where he worked as a journalist and founded the newspaper Diari de Sabadell, of which he was director for six years. He subsequently went to live in Barcelona where he continued to work as a journalist for the daily La Publicitat. He was director of this newspaper from 1920 to 1921.

As a playwright, he wrote L'amor i els lladres (Love and Thieves), which was published in 1926. Although most of his plays were never published, they were staged –with a very positive response from critics and public alike– in the Teatre Català Romea and the Teatre Català Novetats in Barcelona, and in the Teatre Alkázar in Valencia.

On his return to Valencia in 1933, he began to work as a public servant in the city's Municipal Archive but lost this job after the end of the Civil War, in which he had fought on the Republican side. In 1938 he published the collection of poems Guerra, victòria, demà (War, Victory, Tomorrow). Miquel Duran's literary production should be situated in a historical context of great national and linguistic difficulties.



Web page: Toni Terrades for AELC.
Documentation: Toni Terrades.
Translation: Julie Wark.