Sebastià Oliveras (Capmany, Alt Empordà, 1952) has a degree in English and German Philology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and worked as a public school teacher until his retirement. With a group of other writers he has edited the Diccionari pràctic i complementari de la llengua catalana.

He has published poems and writings in several booklets, magazines and anthologies. Notable among his published work is Balada del senyor Ramon, an erotic poem consisting of seventy-seven cantos with a background of various historical events in Catalonia. He confesses that he has never enjoyed himself so much as when he was writing this book, and recommends it to everyone who might also want to have some fun. Another of his poetic works is the collection of poems for children, Del pati de l’escola estant with illustrations by Eva Riubrugent.

More recently, and together with his granddaughter Nora, he has written Tres amics ben diferents: l’Avi, la Néta i la Gossa, Three Very Different Friends: The Grandad, the Granddaughter and the Dog. This bilingual Catalan-English book of thirteen chapters deals with topical matters like sport, anorexia, death, war, racism, the habits of some animals, and Catalan traditions.

He is a member of the group Amics de les Lletres Garrotxines (La Garrotxa Friends of Literature) and of the Capítol Nobiliari dels Homes de Paratge del Principat de Catalunya (Noble Chapter of Men of Lineage of the Principality of Catalonia).

He is a member of the Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (AELC – Association of Catalan Language Writers).

Web page: Sara Serrano for AELC.
Photograph: author’s personal files.
Translation: Julie Wark.