Concepció G. Maluquer (Salàs de Pallars, Pallars Jussà 1914 - Barcelona 2004) was a poet and fiction writer.

Her vocation as a writer took shape in the 1940s, although she did not publish any book until 1959. She thus forms part of the generation that was silenced in the years that followed the Civil War. Her voice is coherent with the reality of her times and of the country under the Franco dictatorship, and these historical circumstances of the repression of Catalan culture stood in the way of her development as a writer.

In her early works, Concepció G. Maluquer tended towards poetry. In 1959 she published La creu dels vents (The Cross of the Winds), which received the Ciutat de Barcelona Prize in 1957, and La ciutat i les hores (The City and the Hours) appeared in 1960. Her poetry is elegant and symbolic, perfectly blending emotion, rhythm and virtuosity. However, a considerable part of her poetry has never been published.

She then turned to the novel, which offered more freedom and clarity of expression. Through this genre, she has bequeathed an interesting portrait of the Catalonia of the 1960s. Her style is sober yet vibrant and she captures everyday life around the country, in both coastal and hinterland regions, with works like Gent del Sud (People from the South, 1964) —perhaps her best-known work— and Parèntesi (Parenthesis, 1962).

She was an active member of artistic and literary circles and of the post-war cultural resistance, a close friend of Aurora Bertrana and was also in contact with prominent writers like J. V. Foix. Hers is a clear, deep, sensitive and elegant voice that is committed to her mother tongue and the political, social and cultural reality of her country.



Web page: Mar Veciana for AELC.
The photographs have kindly been made available by the author's family.
Translation: Julie Wark.