Maria-Mercè Marçal is influenced by a large number of female authors who preceded her or those who are her contemporaries, whom she does not stop claiming. At the same time, she is a reference for those who will come, since at a certain moment she becomes the maximum female exponent of Catalan poetry.
She sought and found opportunities, often collective, to bring to light, revise and re-evaluate the work of contemporary Catalan poetesses. Among her sources of inspiration are Felícia Fuster and Clementina Arderiu. She will vindicate the female literary lineage that precedes her: Víctor Català, Mercè Rodoreda, Helena Valentí, Maria Aurèlia Capmany and Montserrat Roig, among others.
She also referred to the poetic work of female authors from other traditions, such as Emily Dickinson, Adrienne Rich, and especially Sylvia Plath. She was struck by the poetic words of Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva and Renee Vivien. These female literary referents act as potentials for the translations that Marçal makes and publishes herself.
Maria-Mercè Marçal i Serra
Ivars d’Urgell 13-11-1952 ‖ Barcelona 05-07-1998
Period of activity: From 1976 until 1998
Geographical classification: Europe > Spain
Socio-cultural movements
Late modern period / Contemporary period > Literary and cultural movements since the end of the 19th century > Literature since the last third of the 20th century
Late modern period / Contemporary period > Literary and cultural movements since the end of the 19th century > Women's studies
Late modern period / Contemporary period > Socio-political movements > Labor movement
Late modern period / Contemporary period > Socio-political movements > Civil rights movements
Late modern period / Contemporary period > Socio-political movements > LGBTI movements
Groups by dedication
Activists > Feminists (activists)
Humanistics > Feminists (intellectuals)
Educators > Teachers / Lecturers / Professors
Popularisers / Cultural promoters > Publishers
Writers > Poets
Writers > Story writers
Writers > Essayists
Writers > Translators
Writers > Orators
Context of feminine creation
Review
Maria-Mercè Marçal has the centrality that no other poetess had before in the Catalan tradition. She is an icon both for what her life represents, and for the seduction of her verses and the ability they show when expressing the experience of reality. At the same time, her work had a great social impact during the last years of the Franco regime and the transition.
Her texts combine tradition, innovation and research into poetic forms. From her first writings she showed great linguistic rigour and care, which showed her great knowledge of the language.
Justifications
Biography
Maria-Mercè Marçal was born on the 13th of November 1952 in Barcelona. She spent her childhood in Ivars d’Urgell (Pla d’Urgell). At a very young age she began to write her first poems, although in Spanish. As she was influenced by the Nova Cançó movement, she began to write the first verses in Catalan.
In 1969 she moved to Barcelona to enter university. She got a degree in Classical Philology. During the 70s she participated in the creation of the Mall Books.
In 1976 she won the Carles Riba Award for poetry with the collection Cau de llunes. In 1979 she published her second book of poems, Bruixa de dol, and her name began to become popular. She contributes to publications such as Reduccions, Dones en lluita, and Escrivint a les parets.
The 80s begin with the birth of her daughter Heura, a personal experience that is reflected in the poems Sal oberta and later on La germana, l’estrangera. This second work earned her the López-Picó Award. Terra de Mai is also from this period, in which the author talks about female homosexuality, silenced until then in Catalan literature. Her latest work as a poetess comes with the compilation Llengua abolida.
It is also important to cite her role as a translator, as she translated authors such as Colette, Yourcenar, Leonor Fini and, in collaboration with Monica Zgustová, the Russian poetesses Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva. She also occasionally cultivates literary essays in articles and lectures.
She makes a foray into the field of children's fiction, and her only novel, La passió segons Reneé Vivien, brings her a rain of awards: Carlemany Award (1994), Crítica Award (1995), Crítica Serra d'Or Award (1995), Joan Crexells Award (1995), Prudenci Bertrana Award (1995) and Institució de les Lletres Catalanes Award (1996). She also represents her consolidation as a narrator, despite her inevitable classification as one of the most recognized poetesses in Catalan literature in recent times.
She never leaves the militancy in the feminist movement, although she is gradually focusing primarily on the cultural and literary field. In the last years of her career, she promoted the creation of the Committee of Women Writers within the Catalan PEN Center.
She died in Barcelona on 5 July 1998, of cancer, at the age of 45, just as she was beginning her maturity as a writer.
Source: Associació d’Escriptors en llengua catalana, 17/03/2022 https://www.escriptors.cat/autors/marcalmm/maria-merce-marcal-biografia
Works
NOVELS:
(1994). La passió segons Renée Vivien. Barcelona: Columna.
SHORT NARRATIVE:
(1990). Viratges, reminiscències, dins Barceldones. Barcelona: Edicions de l'Eixample.
(1995). Jocs de màscares, dins Dones soles. 14 contes. Barcelona: Planeta, pp. 73-92.
DIARY:
(2014). El senyal de la pèrdua. Escrits inèdits dels últims anys. Barcelona: Empúries.
POETRY:
(1977). Cau de llunes. Barcelona: Proa.
(1979). Bruixa de dol. Sant Boi de Llobregat: Llibres del Mall.
(1982). Sal oberta. Sant Boi de Llobregat: Llibres del Mall.
(1982). Terra de mai. València: El Cingle.
(1985). La germana, l’estrangera. Sant Boi de Llobregat: Llibres del Mall.
(1988). Desglaç. Barcelona: Edicions 62 - Empúries.
(1989). Llengua abolida. València: 3 i 4.
(2000). Raó del cos. Barcelona: Edicions 62 - Empúries.
CHILDREN AND YOUNG READERS LITERATURE:
(1986). La disputa de Fra Anselm amb l’ase ronyós de la cua tallada [basada en una narració d’Anselm Turmeda; co-written with Glòria Puig]. Barcelona: Aliorna.
(2004). Cançó de saltar a corda. Barcelona: Cruïlla.
(2004). La màgia de les paraules. Barcelona: Baula.
(2012). Uf, quin dissabte, rateta Arbequina!. Barcelona: Estrella Polar.
(2015). Tan petita i ja saps.... Algemesí: Andana.
LITERARY CRITICISM AND ESSAY:
"En dansa obliqua de miralls: Pauline M. Tarn (Renée Vivien), Caterina Albert (Víctor Català) i Maria Antònia Salvà", dins Cartografies del desig: quinze escriptores i el seu món (1998). Barcelona: Proa
"Rosa Leveroni, en el llindar", dins Literatura de dones: una visió del món (1998). Barcelona: La Sal
"Com en la nit, les flames", dins Cartografies del desig: quinze escriptores i el seu món (1998). Barcelona: Proa
(2004). Sota el signe del drac. Barcelona: Proa.
TRANSLATIONS:
From French:
(1985). La dona amagada, de Colette
(1990). El tret de gràcia, de Marguerite Yourcenar.
(1992). L’Oneiropompe, de Leonor Fini
From russian:
(1990). Rèquiem i altres poemes, d’Anna Akhmàtova.
(1992). Poema de la fi, de Marina Tsvetàieva.
(2004). Versions d’Akhmàtova i Tsvetàieva. Com en la nit les flames, d’Anna Akhmàtova i Marina Tsvetàieva.
Bibliography
Llorca, Fina (abril 2008). “Maria-Mercè Marçal”. Visat, 5.
Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana, https://www.escriptors.cat/autors/marcalmm/portic-maria-merce-marcal, (Retrieved on 17-03-2022)
Climent, Laia (2008). Maria-Mercè Marçal, cos i compromís. Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat.
Climent, Laia (ed.) (2013). Maria-Mercè Marçal, veus entre onades. València: Edicions 3i4.
Julià, Lluïsa (ed.) (1998). Àlbum Maria-Mercè Marçal. Barcelona: Centre Català del PEN Club.
Fundació Maria-Mercè Marçal (FMMM), with a digital archive of texts and an agenda of events about the author, 17-03-2022, https://www.fmmm.cat/
Didactic approach
The author can be included in the subjects:
- Valencian: language and literature
- Universal literature
- Ethical values
- Tutoring
She can be studied in the different curricular blocks of 4th of ESO and 2nd of Bachillerato.