Anna Murià i Romaní (

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

, Romaní; 21 April 1904 – 27 September 2002) was a Spanish Catalan narrator, translator, literary critic, and journalist who wrote short stories, novels, children's literature, and essays. A feminist activist, Murià i Romaní served as secretary of the

Institució de les Lletres Catalanes Institució de les Lletres Catalanes (Institute of Catalan Letters) is a Spanish organization based in Barcelona. An entity of the Government of Catalonia, it was founded in 1937 by intellectuals who were loyal to the Republic during the Spanish C ...

, was a founding member of the Grup Sindical d'Escriptors Catalans (Union Group of Catalan Writers; 1936), and was an Honorary Member of the

Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana The Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (, "Association of Writers in the Catalan Language", or "Association of Catalan-Language Writers"), also known by the acronym AELC, is a professional organisation of authors, poets, scriptwriters, tra ...

Early life and education

Born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Murià i Romaní was the daughter of the journalist and filmmaker, Magí Murià i Torner. She attended religious schools before studying commerce, accounting and English at the l'Institut de Cultura i Biblioteca de la Dona (1918–24).

Career

Murià i Romaní was a relevant political female writer. She was involved with Acció Catalana, but joined

Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya The Republican Left of Catalonia ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social-democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in ...

(Republican Left of Catalonia) in 1932, where she helped with the collection of signatures in favor of the adoption of the Statute of Autonomy of 1932 ( es). In 1932, she organized the "Front Únic Femení Esquerrista" (United Front of Women from the Left) together with other relevant female activists and writers of the time such as

Rosa Maria Arquimbau Rosa Maria Arquimbau i Cardil (pen name, Rosa de Sant Jordi; 27th March,1909 – 28th February, 1992) was a Catalan writer, journalist, feminist, and suffragist. Together with Maria Teresa Vernet i Real, Carme Montoriol i Puig, Anna Murià, E ...

. In 1936, she joined the central committee of the

Estat Català Estat Català (, literally "Catalan State") is a pro-independence nationalist historical political party of Catalonia (Spain). History Estat Català is a historical pro-independence political party in Catalonia, Spain. It was founded by France ...

. Along with Ana María Martínez Sagi, Murià i Romaní was also a member of El Club Femení i d'Esports de Barcelona. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, she was an official of the

Generalitat of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label=Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed b ...

, where she acted as secretary of the

(Institute of Catalan Letters), collaborated in publications such ''

La Dona Catalana ''La Dona Catalana'' ("Catalan Woman") was a Catalan language home and fashion magazine. It was published by Editorial Bosch in Barcelona between 1925 and 1938. Starting on 9 October 1925, the weekly periodical came out every Friday, although ther ...

'', ''La Rambla'', ''

La Nau La Nau (literally "The Nave") is the former building of the old Universidad Literaria in Valencia, and is today one of the smaller buildings of the modern Universitat de València The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de Val� ...

'', ''Meridià'' and '' Diari de Catalunya''. She was also a member of the Women's Union of Catalonia and a co-founder of the Grup Sindical d'Escriptors Catalans (Union Group of Catalan Writers). While she wrote several novels, ''Aquest sera el principi'' ("This will be the Beginning"; 1986) is considered her major opus.

Personal life

Murià i Romaní met her husband, the poet

Agustí Bartra Agustí Bartra i Lleonart (; 1908 – 1982) was a Spanish poet, writer, translator and University Professor in Catalan language. Biography Descendant of a country family, he passed part of his childhood in Sabadell, although he had been bor ...

, in 1939, and they went into exile together. They had two children, a son, the anthropologist,

Roger Bartra Roger Bartra Murià (born November 7, 1942, in Mexico City) is a Mexican sociologist and anthropologist, son of the exiled Catalan writers Agustí Bartra and Anna Murià, who settled in Mexico after the defeat of the democratic forces in the ...

, and a daughter, the philosopher, Eli Bartra. Before returning to

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, Murià i Romaní and Bartra traveled through the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico. Muria i Romani died in

Terrassa Terrassa (, es, Tarrasa) is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona, ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ' ...

in 2002; she was a close friend of the writer,

Mercè Rodoreda Mercè Rodoreda i Gurguí (; 10 October 1908 – 13 April 1983) was a Catalan novelist. She is considered the most influential contemporary Catalan language writer, as evidenced by the references of other authors in her work and the internation ...

Selected works

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muria, Anna 1904 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Spanish novelists 20th-century Spanish women writers 20th-century translators 20th-century short story writers 20th-century essayists Women writers from Catalonia Translators from Catalonia Literary critics from Catalonia Journalists from Catalonia Spanish feminists Spanish women's rights activists Spanish women short story writers Short story writers from Catalonia Novelists from Catalonia Spanish women novelists Spanish children's writers Spanish women essayists Spanish essayists Spanish women children's writers Spanish women literary critics Women founders Organization founders Catalan-language writers