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Joan Fuster i Ortells (; 23 November 1922 – 21 June 1992) was an influential Spanish writer. He is considered a major writer in the Valencian language (a dialect of the
Catalan language Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as ''Valencian'' (autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spa ...
), and his work contributed to reinvigorate left-wing, pro-Catalan nationalism in Valencia during the
Spanish transition to democracy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
. In his influential political essay
Nosaltres, els valencians ''Nosaltres, els valencians'' (; "We, the Valencians"), is a historical and political essay by the Valencian (Spain) author Joan Fuster, first published in 1962. The book deals with Valencians, especially their national identity and their relatio ...
(1962) he coined the term ''Països Catalans'' (Catalan Countries) to refer to the Catalan-speaking territories.


Life and works

He was born in the village of Sueca near
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, in a relatively prosperous middle-class family. Both his parents were pious
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
s and
Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...
s. His father was a renowned local sculptor of mostly religious sculptures. In 1941 he became a member of the fascist organization
Falange The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...
; however, he later abjured this affiliation. In 1947 Fuster graduated with a degree in law and he received a doctoral degree in
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
in 1985. From 1946 to 1956 he co-directed the magazine ''Verb'' with José Albi. Of his first books, all of which are poetry, ''Escrit per al silenci'' ("Written for the Silence") (1954) stands out. In 1952 he began his collaborations with the press of ''
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
'' in '' Levante'': this would be one of his more prominent facets. He would continue with it in ''
Destino ''Destino'' is an animated short film released in 2003 by Walt Disney Animation Studios. ''Destino'' is unique in that its production originally began in 1945, 58 years before its eventual completion in 2003. The project was originally a collab ...
'' and in ''
La Vanguardia ' (; , Spanish for "The Vanguard") is a Spanish daily newspaper, founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan (Spanish copy is automatically translated into Catalan). It has its headquarters in Barcelona and i ...
''. With ''El descrèdit de la Realitat'' ("The Discredit of Reality") (1955) he started a notable career as an essayist of vast thematic breadth and whose incisive style was noted for its precise use of adjectives. Another aspect of his work was his erudition and concern with the craft of storytelling and he worked greatly to maintain a literary reviewal he pushed forward in anthologies. His dedication to Valencian themes culminated in 1962 with the publication of what remained as his most known work: ''
Nosaltres els valencians ''Nosaltres, els valencians'' (; "We, the Valencians"), is a historical and political essay by the Valencian (Spain) author Joan Fuster, first published in 1962. The book deals with Valencians, especially their national identity and their relatio ...
'' ("We, the Valencians"). This book, together with ''Qüestió de Noms'' ("Matter of Names") and ''El País Valenciano'' ("The Valencian Country"), are basic books on the history, culture and national identity problem of the Valencian Community from a
Catalanist Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...
point of view. He went on with this subject matter with the release of ''Raimon'' (1964), ''Combustible per a falles'' ("Combustible for Falles") (1967) and ''Ara o Mai'' ("Now or Never") (1981), among others. These, parts of his numerous studies and erudite historical and biographical articles, have been collected in the I and III tomes of the ''Obres completes'' ("Complete Works"). The ''Diari'' ("Day-to-Day Works") (1952–1960) occupy the second volume. Within the realm of essay writing, he published ''Figures del temps'' ("Figures of Times"), Yxart award (1957), ''Judicis Finals'' ("Final Judgments") (1960), ''Diccionari per a ociosos'' ("Dictionary for Idlers") (1964), ''Causar-se d'esperar'' ("Causing Oneself to Wait") (1965), ''L'home, mesura de totes les coses'' ("The Man, Measure of All Things") (1967), and others—always within the tradition moral root of classical
humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...
, close in spirit to the moralists and French reformers (from
Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a liter ...
to the encyclopedists), as a critic and skeptic noted for his acid humor. Within his works on history, criticism and literary production, he published ''La Poesia Catalana'' ("Catalan Poetry") (1956), ''Poetes, Moriscos i Capellans'' ("Poets, Moorish and Cures") (1962), ''Heretgies, Revoltes i Sermons'' ("Heresies, Revolts and Sermons") (1968) and ''Literatura Catalana Contemporània'' ("Contemporary Catalan Literature") (1972), in addition to three extensive prologues for the works of
Joan Salvat-Papasseit Joan Salvat-Papasseit (; Barcelona, 16 May 1894 – 7 August 1924) was a Catalan poet, though he also wrote articles, manifestos and other prose of a political and social nature. He wrote primarily in Catalan, although he had an early period of es ...
(1962), Salvador Espriu (1963) and
Josep Pla Josep Pla i Casadevall (; 8 March 1897 – 23 April 1981) was a Spanish journalist and a popular author. As a journalist he worked in France, Italy, England, Germany and Russia, from where he wrote political and cultural chronicles in Catalan a ...
(1966), joined together in ''Contra el Noucentisme'' ("Against Noucentisme") (1978). In 1987 he collected his poetry into ''Set llibres de versos'' ("Seven Books of Verses"). The studies joined together in ''Llibres i problemes del Renaixentisme'' ("Books and problems of the Renaissance") (1989) are the fruit of the research carried out in his last few years. In 1994 the works ''Fuster Inèdit'' ("Unpublished Fuster") and ''Fuster Sabàtic'' ("Sabbatical Fuster") were edited. He was homosexual.


Importance

Despite having written also a number of fiction pieces, he is best known for his
essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
s, especially the political ones. His most influential work by far was the book ''
Nosaltres els valencians ''Nosaltres, els valencians'' (; "We, the Valencians"), is a historical and political essay by the Valencian (Spain) author Joan Fuster, first published in 1962. The book deals with Valencians, especially their national identity and their relatio ...
'' ("We, the Valencians") (1962), whereas other titles such as ''Qüestió de Noms'' ("Matter of Names") and ''Diccionari per a Ociosos'' ("Dictionary for Idlers") (1963) are well known in the
Catalan nationalism Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...
. He became the intellectual leader of
Valencian nationalism Valencian nationalism ( ca-valencia, Nacionalisme valencià; ) or Valencianism ( ca-valencia, Valencianisme) is a political movement in the Land of Valencia, Spain. It advocates the promotion and recognition of the Valencian language, culture ...
by the end of the 20th century, and was central in proposing the '' Països Catalans'' concept, which advocated for unity within Catalan culture as proposed by Catalan nationalists, and assumed vaguely by Valencian nationalists. In these books Fuster asserted that it was necessary to strengthen Valencia's relationships with the other Catalan speaking territories for there to be any chance of defending the autonomous culture of Valencia. In this way he sought to bring a Catalan-based cultural community into existence. In this sense, Fuster is, for some, the most remarkable political essayist in Catalan of the generations that appeared after 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 ...
.


Acknowledgement

He received the ''
Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes The Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes (Catalan Literary Lifetime Achievement Award) is an award instituted by Omnium Cultural since 1969 to recognize a person by their scientific or literary work, written in Catalan language, the importance of ...
'' ("Catalan Letters Award") (1975) and also, in the year 1983, the ''Medalla d’Or de la Generalitat de Catalunya'' ("Gold Medal of Catalonia's Generality"). In 1984 he was named doctor
honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
by the
University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
and by the Autonomous University of Barcelona. In 1986 he was appointed as professor of literature in the University of Valencia.


Murder attempt

On September 11, 1981, two bombs exploded in his house, damaging heavily his library and archive. Nobody was prosecuted, but it is widely believed that it was the anti-Catalan far right's response to Fuster's political and cultural position.


References


External links

*
Web oficial del Centre Documental Casa Joan Fuster (Sueca) i la Càtedra Joan Fuster de la Universitat de València (Catalan)


Digital editions of Joan Fuster's books


Nosaltres els valencians

Qüestió de noms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuster, Joan 1922 births 1992 deaths People from Ribera Baixa Catalan-language writers Politics of Catalonia University of Valencia faculty Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes winners Members of the Institute for Catalan Studies