Happy 90th, Josep Vallverdú! (Catalan author & HCA nominee)

[leno...@yahoo.com]

He was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1988.

From Wikipedia:

"Josep Vallverdú i Aixalà (Catalan pronunciation: [dʒuˈzɛb ˈbaʎβeɾˈðu]) (born 1923, Lleida) is a Catalan poet, novelist, playwright, linguist and essayist. His narrative Rovelló served as basis for a TV-series in TV3 (Catalonia). His works, rich in vocabulary, have been widely used in the Catalan classrooms. Vallverdú won in 1982 the National Spanish Prize in Children's Literature."

At least one book of his is available in English - "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp."

http://www.lletra.net/en/author/josep-vallverdu/detail
(long 2007 article)

Excerpts:

.....Pedrolo described him as a "fable-spinner" and Francesc Danés as an "unabashed graphomaniac". Others have said that he is a "cultural agitator", a "man steeped in culture" or an "educator in civic values". His generous presence has been the stimulus for a great number of cultural events of all kinds and, in many cases, in the words of Antoni Bergós, "it has been a blast from the bellows that was needed to get the coals flaming again". He is probably the most widely-read author among the young people of Catalonia, possessor of a solid career despite the fact that, in his prudent, modest way, he declares that, "In the end, one gets where one gets mostly because of pure and simple chance".

He has been one of the great opinion makers and leading theorist of contemporary thought in the west Catalonia region. Ironic, irreducible, an intelligent, elegant, demanding conversationalist... His articles in the press are always lucid. He is entranced by the stoicism of dogs and their fidelity. Yet he could not live without having a cat close by.

Although some have described him as a "writer for all seasons" because of the diversity of his work, it must still be stressed that he is one of the most prolific and prestigious writers for young people in the country. For many he is the doyen of this frequently undervalued literature. His corpus for this readership consists of over sixty titles written in elaborate, suggestive, rich prose. He specialises in adventure stories and, in particular, the action novel, although one observes in his writing a desire for variety that has led him to take on all kinds themes and all narrative forms. Vallverdú, like a good taster-of-all-flavours, has created a wide-ranging, diverse and enviable literary world. The main characteristics of his work, widely recognised and winner of many prizes, are his tradecraft, coherence and fidelity. It is a solid oeuvre built on values that, without overlooking the playful side of things that is appropriate in literature for young people, also presents the challenge of constant reflection and the personal enrichment of the reader..........

..........As Isidor Cònsul does very well to remind us, "the fiction for young people by Josep Vallverdú is one of the – doubtless, most luxuriant – branches of the literary tree that has grown gratefully and laden with fruit". To the six thousand pages of his literature for young people – which is what the set of his novels, along with about a hundred stories and short plays, amounts to – one must also add his work that is not directly addressed to a young readership: essays, travel books, books written for educational purposes and with a view to popularising certain subjects, books on Lleida and its regions, many hundreds of articles, translations (seventy books), adaptations, prologues, poems, opening addresses at different events, scripts, plays, lectures... not to overlook the odd surprise piece such as Los goigs a llaor del gloriós Sant Clandestí [Couplets in Praise of Glorious Saint Clandestine]...........

(snip)

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&q=%22josep+vallverdu%22&oq=%22josep+vallverdu%22&gs_l=news-cc.3..43j43i53.1054.1054.0.1486.1.1.0.0.0.0.267.267.2-1.1.0...0.0...1ac.1.z8fDbcEkVh4
(recent articles, mostly in Spanish, plus an interview in Catalan)

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=nn#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22josep+vallverdu%22+90&oq=%22josep+vallverdu%22+90&gs_l=hp.3...973.2564.0.2867.4.4.0.0.0.0.304.1151.2-3j1.4.0....0...1c.1.19.psy-ab.BCYNcp3J700&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.48705608,d.bmk&fp=bfe60d7a995ba607&biw=1440&bih=785
(other articles about his birthday, mostly in Catalan - they can all be translated)

http://www.vallverdu.org/
(in Catalan)

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ca&u=http://www.vallverdu.org/&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522josep%2Bvallverdu%2522%2B90%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D785
(the same, translated)

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1440&bih=785&q=%22josep+vallverdu%22+books&oq=%22josep+vallverdu%22+books&gs_l=img.3...2222.2222.0.2557.1.1.0.0.0.0.266.266.2-1.1.0....0...1ac.1.19.img.VymjK6YGWrI
(book covers)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22josep+vallverdu%22&oq=%22josep+vallverdu%22&gs_l=youtube.3...3400.4134.0.4377.2.2.0.0.0.0.268.268.2-1.1.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube.nf97qxY7YUE
(videos, in Catalan)


Lenona.

[leno...@yahoo.com]

Description of "Los amigos del viento"(1979):

"A translation of 'Els amics del vent.' When their father is captured
by Napoleon's soldiers, two Catalan children join a former Frenchwoman
in an escape by balloon."


http://ddd.uab.es/pub/quaderns/11385790n8p121.pdf
(long interview in Catalan)

Among his translations are "Island of the Blue Dolphins" and "Treasure
Island."

http://www.escriptors.cat/autors/vallverduj/pagina.php?id_sec=2428
Excerpt:

"He also translated works by Chesterton, T. Elliot, Graham Greene, Jean Piaget, Jack London, Martin Luther King, Stevenson and Oscar Wilde, among others. Some of his work has been translated into Spanish, Basque, French, Italian and Russian. He was honored with the Creu de Sant Jordi de la Generalitat de Catalunya (1990) and with the Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes (2000)."

Lenona.