Lluís Urpinell (Barcelona, 1953) is a poet, cultural activist and teacher.

With degrees in Catalan Philology and Anglo-German Studies from the University of Barcelona, he works as a Catalan teacher at Òmnium Cultural and an English teacher for the Department of Education of the Generalitat (Government) of Catalonia, as well as being a proof-reader and editor for the Parliament of Catalonia and coordinator of the parliamentary gazettes. Moreover, he is a publisher, translator, a simultaneous and consecutive translator, translatologist, and linguistic and literary researcher. With Joan Alegret and Jordi Vintró he co-founded the publishing house Edicions Anglo-Catalanes and, in 1986, he founded and directed the First International Symposium on Catalan Language Translation and Interpretation. He was co-founder of the magazine Tarotdequinze (1972-1975) and also creator of the so-called “estovalles poètiques” (poetic tablecloths).

He has published the books of poems Exili forçós al Walhalla (1975), winner of the Joan Salvat-Papasseit Prize, Lerwick (1981), March/Arthur (1985), Tractat d'Ofiologia (1995), Naips Nous (2007), and Neons (2012), as well as the jointly authored collection (with Joan Noves and Jordi Vintró) Tankes de París (1989).

He was a co-founding member of the Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (AELC – Association of Catalan Language Writers) and of the Catalan Centre of PEN Club International, and was also a board member of the Institution of Catalan Letters in its early years.

Web page: Toni Terrades for AELC. 
Documentation: Lluís Urpinell.
Photographs: Author’s personal files. 
Translated by Julie Wark.