Biography
Carme Riera Guilera war born in Palma (Mallorca), in 1948. [...] At the age of twelve, she wrote poems and some stories in Spanish. Her teacher Aina Moll encouraged her to write in Catalan while she was a student in Joan Alcover de Palma High School. The author acknowledges the influence of her grandmother, Catalina Estada, who told her stories from a very young age. […]
In 1968 she moved to Barcelona, where she graduated in Spanish philology. In 1974, with her short story Te deix, amor, la mar com a penyora (I Give You, Love, the Sea as Pledge) she won the short narrative award Puig i Llensa, given by the magazine "Recull" in Blanes, which entitled her first conference in 1975. She then published a second book of stories, Jo pos per testimoni les gavines (I Take the Seagulls as My Witness) in 1977.
Her first novel, Una primavera per a Domenico Guarini (A Spring for Domenico Guarini), won the Prudenci Bertrana award for novels in 1980. It was acclaimed both by readers and the critics. The following year, she published her first erotic novel, Epitelis tendríssims (Tender Epitheliums).
Then one award was followed by the next. She won the Ramon Llull for Joc de miralls (Mirror images) in 1989. Her most awarded work, however, is the historical novel in which she narrates the process suffered by converted Majorcan Jews and their subsequent burn at the sake, entitled Dins el darrer blau (In the Last Blue) (1994); it won the Josep Pla award in 1994, the Joan Crexells and the Lletra d'Or in 1995, as well as the National Narrative Award, given by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. It was the first time it had been awarded to a novel in Catalan. It also won the Vittorini award after it was translated into Italian by Francesco Ardolino.
Her first script was Es diu Maria Puig la meva mare? (Is Maria Puig My Mother's Name?), for Catalunya Ràdio (1989); Afterwards, she wrote Quotidiana quotidianitat (Daily Routine) for TV3 (1994), in the series 13x13, and Dones d'aigua (Water Women) together with another author for TV3 (1997).
She has also writtern Quasi bé un conte, la vida de Ramon Llull (Almost a Short Story or Ramon Llull’s life (1980), La molt exemplar història del gos màgic i de la seva cua (The Most Exemplary Story of the Magic Dog and Its Tail) (1998), a book for children.
As a scholar in contemporary Spanish literature, she has published La escuela de Barcelona (The School of Barcelona) (1988), which received the Anagrama prize; La obra poética de José Agustín Goytisolo (The Poetry of José Agustín Goytisolo) (1987), and La obra poética de Carlos Barral (The Poetry of Carlos Barral) (1990). She has published the anthology Partidaris de la felicitat (Happiness Supporters) in 2000 together with writers from the Poetic school of Barcelona. […]
All of her books have been translated into Spanish, most of them by herself. Some have been translated into German, English, Greek, Italian, Dutch and Russian [...].
In 2000 she published the novel Cap al cel obert (To the Open Sky), set in 19th-century Havana; it received the Crítica Serra d'Or prize. That same year, the Catalan government awarded her the Creu de Sant Jordi Award for her literary career; Her novel Dins el darrer blau was also awarded the Elio Vittorini prize for foreign author translated into Italian by the Tourism Department of Syracuse. In 2016, her novel Les darreres paraules (Last Words) won the BBVA Sant Joan Award for Catalan literature.
In 2005 she was given the Joan Fuster Award for Writers in Catalan […]. That same year, she received the Golden Medal by the Majorcan Insular Council […]. She has been part of the Royal Spanish Academy since April 2012, and an elected member since 2013. She is the eighth woman to become a member in this institution.
In June 2015, she was appointed president of CEDRO, the association for the management of Spanish authors, editors and journalists.
Carme Riera has also been awarded the National Prize for Spanish Arts in 2015 by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.
Our own translation from: Web Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana
https://www.escriptors.cat/autors/rierac/biografia, (retrieved on 17/03/2022).
Works
Novels:
- (1980). Una primavera per a Domenico Guarini. Barcelona: Edicions 62.
- (1994). Dins el darrer blau. Barcelona: Destino.
- (2000). Cap al cel obert. Barcelona: Cercle de Lectors.
- (2004). La meitat de l'ànima. Barcelona: Proa.
- (2006). L'estiu de l'anglés. Barcelona: Proa.
- (2009). Amb ulls americans. Barcelona: Proa.
- (2011). Natura quasi morta. Barcelona: Edicions 62.
- (2013). Temps d'innocència. Barcelona: Edicions 62.
- (2015). La veu de la sirena. Barcelona: Edicions 62.
- (2016). Les darreres paraules. Barcelona: Edicions 62.
Short narrative:
- (1975). Te deix, amor, la mar com a penyora. Barcelona: Laia.
- (1981). Epitelis tendríssims. Barcelona: Edicions 62.
- (1991). Contra l'amor en companyia i altres relats. Barcelona: Destino.
- (2003). Llengües mortes. Barcelona: Destino.
Prose:
- (1998). Temps d'una espera.[dietari]. Barcelona: Columna.
