Maria Mercè Marçal

Maria Mercè Marçal i Serra (13 November 1952 – 5 July 1998) was a Catalan poet, professor, writer and translator from Spain.

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Marçal and the second or maternal family name is Serra; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
Maria Mercè Marçal
Born(1952-11-13)13 November 1952
Ivars d'Urgell, Catalonia, Spain
Died5 July 1998(1998-07-05) (aged 45)
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
OccupationPoet, Professor, Writer, Translator
LanguageCatalan
NationalitySpanish
Alma materUniversity of Barcelona
Notable awardsPrudenci Bertrana Prize
1995 La passió segons Renée Vivien
SpouseRamon Pinyol Balasch (1972-1976)

Biography

Marçal was born in Barcelona[1] but spent her childhood in Ivars d'Urgell (Pla d'Urgell), which she considered her home. Her mother was Maria Serra, a woman who loved theater and songs, and her father was Antoni Marçal, who had to leave college for family reasons. She had a sister Magda.[2]

She went to high-school in Lleida, at the Institut de Lleida, after receiving a scholarship. She then studied literature at the University of Barcelona, earning a degree in Classical Philology there. She went on to become a Professor of Catalan Language and Literature.[1]

In 1972, Marçal married the poet Ramon Pinyol Balasch. They separated some time afterward.[2]

In 1973, she was co-founder of the publishing house Llibres del Mall with her husband and another young Catalan poet, Xavier Bru de Sala.[1][3]

In 1980, her daughter Heura was born, an experience that she transformed into tender poetry.[3]

In 1992 she proposed the creation of Catalan Women Writers as part of the Catalan Centre for PEN.[3]

She translated into Catalan works by both French and Russian writers: Colette, Marguerite Yourcenar, Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, Baudelaire and Leonor Fini.[1][3]

Marçal died in Barcelona in 1998 of cancer, aged 45.[2][3]

Legacy

Marina Rossell, Teresa Rebull, Ramon Muntaner, Txiqui Berraondo, Maria del Mar Bonet, Celdoni Fonoll and Gisela Bellsolà have sung Marçal's poems.[1][2]

Works

In 1976, Marçal's first book of poems Cau de llunes (winning the Carles Riba Prize),[2] introduced by a splendid poetic sestina penned by Joan Brossa, includes the poem "Divisa," which is like a manifesto summarizing what guided her activism:

To fate I am grateful for three gifts: having been born a woman,

of low class and oppressed nation.

And the turbid azure of being three times a rebel.

Marçal's influential second book, Bruixa de dol or Witch in Mourning, has been translated into English.

Selected publications[3]
  • Cau de llunes. Barcelona: Proa, 1977. ISBN 84-209-7191-X
  • Bruixa de dol (1977–1979). Sant Boi de Llobregat: Llibres del Mall, 1979. ISBN 84-7456-049-7
  • Terra de mai. Valencia: El cingle, 1982. ISBN 84-7456-124-8
  • Sal oberta. Sant Boi de Llobregat: Llibres del Mall, 1982. ISBN 84-7456-122-1
  • La germana, l'estrangera (1981–1984). Sant Boi de Llobregat: Llibres del Mall, 1985. ISBN 84-7456-277-5
  • Contraclaror: antologia poètica, de Clementina Arderiu. Barcelona: La Sal, edicions de les dones, 1985. ISBN 84-85627-26-1
  • Desglaç (1984–1988). Barcelona: Edicions 62 - Empúries, 1988.
  • Llengua abolida (1973–1988). Valencia: Climent, 1989. ISBN 84-7502-246-4
  • La passió segons Renée Vivien. Barcelona: Proa, 1994. ISBN 84-7809-739-2
  • Paisatge emergent: trenta poetes catalanes del S.XX. Barcelona: La Magrana, 1999. ISBN 84-8264-167-0
  • Raó del cos. Barcelona: Edicions 62 - Empúries, 2000. ISBN 84-297-4685-4
  • Contraban de llum: antologia poètica. Barcelona: Proa, 2001. ISBN 84-8256-672-5
  • El meu amor sense casa (CD). Barcelona: Proa, 2003. ISBN 84-8437-513-7
  • Witch in Mourning. Translation of Bruixa de dol. London: Francis Boutle Publishers, 2023. ISBN 9781739895525

References
  1. "English Maria-Mercè Marçal | Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana". www.escriptors.cat. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  2. "Fundació Maria-Mercè Marçal | Biografia" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  3. "Maria-Mercé Marçal". The Institute of Modern Languages Research. 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
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