Joan Fuster i Ortells (Sueca 1922 - 1992). Essayist, historian, literary critic and poet, he was a self-taught intellectual with a historic vision and a commitment to his country and his times. He was the author of a prolific and varied body of work, amongst which an outstanding and important publication is his political essay Nosaltres els valencians (We the Valencians) of 1962 (Lletra d'Or Prize, 1963) which created a major stir in Valencia society. He was a student of the work of Ausiàs March, Saint Vicent Ferrer, Salvador Espriu and Josep Pla, amongst others. He constructed a coherent and well-documented theory of the history of the Catalan territories, and amongst the awards he received for his work were the Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes (Prize of Honour in Catalan Letters) in 1975 and the Gold Medal of the Generalitat (Autonomous Government) of Catalonia, in 1983. He also received the posthumous award of the High Distinction for Cultural Merit from the Autonomous Government of Valencia.

He was President of the Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana from 1987 to 1991.



Documentation: Rosa Masanés.
Up-date: Heura Marçal Serra.
Translation: Julie Wark.
Photographs: from the book Joan Fuster entre nosaltres and from the Càtedra Joan Fuster web site.