Joaquim Monzó i Gómez (born 15 March 1952), also known as Quim Monzó (), is a contemporary

Spanish 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 ...

writer of

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

and discursive prose, mostly 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 ...

. In the early 1970s, Monzó reported from

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

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and

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

for the Barcelona newspaper ''Tele/eXpres''. He was one of the members of the Catalan literary collective, '' Ofèlia Dracs''. He lives 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 ...

and publishes regularly 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 ...

''. His

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

is characterized by an awareness of

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

and

irony Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

. His other

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

maintains this humor. One collection of 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, ''Catorze ciutats comptant-hi Brooklyn'', is notable for its account of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the days immediately following September 11. In collaboration with

Cuca Canals Cuca may refer to: People *Cuca (footballer, born 1963), former Brazilian football player, and manager *Cuca (footballer, born 1991), Cape Verdean footballer *Cuca (band), a Mexican rock group Places *Cuca, Argeș, a commune in Argeș County, Rom ...

, he wrote the dialogue for

Bigas Luna José Juan Bigas Luna (19 March 1946 – 5 April 2013) was a Spanish film director, designer and artist. His films are typically characterised by a strong emphasis on the erotic, often related to food, something for which he admitted a strong ...

's '' Jamón, jamón''. He has also written ''El tango de Don Joan'', with

Jérôme Savary Jérôme Savary (27 June 1942 – 4 March 2013) was an Argentinian-French theater director and actor. His work has democratized and widened the appeal of musical theater in France, drawing together and blending such genres as opera, operetta, and m ...

. In 2007 he wrote and read the opening speech at the

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse, FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for internationa ...

, the year in which Catalan culture was the guest. Monzó designed an acclaimed lecture written as if it were a short story, thus differing completely from a traditional speech. From December 2009 to April 2010 there took place in the Arts Santa Mònica Gallery in Barcelona a great retrospective exhibition on his life and his work, called ''Monzó''.

Bibliography

Books in English

* ''O'Clock'', 1986. New York: Ballantine Books. Translated by Mary Ann Newman. * ''The enormity of the tragedy'', 2007. London: Peter Owen Publishers. Translated by Peter Bush. * ''Gasoline'', 2010. Rochester, NY: Open Letter. Translated by Mary Ann Newman. ; * ''Guadalajara'', 2011, Rochester, NY: Open Letter. Translated by Peter Bush. ; * ''A thousand morons'', 2013, Rochester, NY: Open Letter. Translated by Peter Bush. ; * ''Why, Why, Why?'', 2019, Rochester, NY: Open Letter. Translated by Peter Bush. ;

Books in Catalan

Fiction

* ''L'udol del griso al caire de les clavegueres'', 1976. Winner of the Premi Prudenci Bertrana (1976). * ''Self Service'', 1977. In collaboration with Biel Mesquida. * ''Uf, va dir ell'', 1978. * ''Olivetti, Moulinex, Chaffoteaux et Maury'', 1980. Winner of the Premi de la Crítica ''Serra d'Or'' in 1981. * ''Benzina'', 1983. * ''L'illa de Maians'', 1985. Awarded the Premi de la Crítica ''Serra d'Or'', 1986. * ''La magnitud de la tragèdia'', 1989. Winner of the Premi de Novel·la ''El Temps'', 1989. * ''El perquè de tot plegat'', 1993. Awarded the Premi Ciutat de Barcelona in 1993, and the Premi de la Crítica ''Serra d'Or'' in 1994. * ''Guadalajara'', 1996. Awarded the Premi de la Crítica ''Serra d'Or'', 1997. * ''Vuitanta-sis contes'' (comprising ''Uf, va dir ell'', ''Olivetti, Moulinex, Chaffoteaux et Maury'', ''L'illa de Maians'', ''El perquè de tot plegat'' and ''Guadalajara''), 1999. Awarded the Premi Nacional de Literatura and Premi Lletra d'Or, both in 2000. * ''El millor dels mons'', 2001. * ''Mil cretins'', 2007. Awarded the

Maria Àngels Anglada Prize The Maria Àngels Anglada Prize (in Catalan: ''Premi de Narrativa Maria Àngels Anglada''; ) is a Catalan literary award, given annually by the ''Institut Ramon Muntaner'' ("Ramon Muntaner Secondary School"), in Figueres (Spain), with the aim of co ...

, 2008.

Collected articles and essays

* ''El dia del senyor'', 1984. * ''Zzzzzzzz'', 1987. * ''La maleta turca'', 1990. * ''Hotel Intercontinental'', 1991. * ''No plantaré cap arbre'', 1994. * ''Del tot indefens davant dels hostils imperis alienígenes'', 1998. * ''Tot és mentida'', 2000. * ''El tema del tema'', 2003. * ''Catorze ciutats comptant-hi Brooklyn'', 2004. * ''Esplendor i glòria de la Internacional Papanates'', 2010. * ''Taula i barra. Diccionari de menjar i beure'', 2017.

Miscellany

He has also translated a large number of authors, including

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

J.D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in ''S ...

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

Harvey Fierstein Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in ''Torch Song Trilogy'' and ''Hairspray'' and movie roles in ''Mrs. Doubtfire'', '' Independence Day'', and ...

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

John Barth John Simmons Barth (; born May 27, 1930) is an American writer who is best known for his postmodern and metafictional fiction. His most highly regarded and influential works were published in the 1960s, and include ''The Sot-Weed Factor'', a ...

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...

, Javier Tomeo,

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...

, and

Eric Bogosian Eric Bogosian ( hy, Էրիկ Բոգոսյան; ; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and ...

. Monzó has been diagnosed with

Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...

. Puyod, Carmina
''Síndrome de Tourette: el capricho del cerebro''.
''El Periódico de Aragón'' (May 23, 2003). Retrieved on 2009-01-03.

Books about Monzó

*Margarida Casacuberta and Marina Gustà (ed.): ''De Rusiñol a Monzó: humor i literatura''. Barcelona: Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, 1996, *Christian Camps and Jordi Gàlvez (ed.): ''Quim Monzó''. Montpellier: Université Paul Valéry, 1998. LO * Antoni Mestres: ''Humor i persuasió: l’obra periodística de Quim Monzó''. Alicante: Universitat d'Alacant, 2006. *

Julià Guillamon Julià Guillamon is a Catalan writer and literary critic. He was born in Barcelona in 1962. Guillamon studied Catalan philology at the University of Barcelona. Since 1994, he has been publishing weekly reviews in the newspaper ''La Vanguardi ...

(ed.): ''Monzó. Com triomfar a la vida''. Barcelona: Galàxia Gutenberg / Cercle de Lectors, 2009, . This is a book catalog published on the occasion of the exhibition devoted to the life and work of author (Arts Santa Mònica, Barcelona, between December 2009 and April 2010).

References

External links

Website dedicated to Monzó

Quim Monzó
al the Association of Catalan Language Writers. In
Short stories by Monzó in ''Words without Borders''

Open Letter Publishing House

* * ttp://www.vilaweb.cat/media/attach/vwedts/docs/discursinaugural.pdf Opening speech at the 2007 Frankfurt Book Fair * *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110725185000/http://www20.gencat.cat/portal/site/culturacatalana/menuitem.be2bc4cc4c5aec88f94a9710b0c0e1a0/?vgnextoid=51b8ef2126896210VgnVCM1000000b0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=51b8ef2126896210VgnVCM1000000b0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=detall2&contentid=295def7fb89d7210VgnVCM1000008d0c1e0aRCRD&newLang=en_GB Profile in Culturcat]
Web dedicated to the book ''Monzó. Com triomfar a la vida''

Editorial Anagrama

Editorial Acantilado

Quaderns Crema
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monzo, Quim Catalan-language writers Spanish journalists Journalists from Catalonia Translators from Catalonia English–Catalan translators English–Spanish translators Spanish–Catalan translators English-language writers from Catalonia Translators of Ray Bradbury Radio personalities from Catalonia 20th-century Spanish novelists Novelists from Catalonia 21st-century Spanish novelists Short story writers from Catalonia People with Tourette syndrome Writers from Barcelona 1952 births Living people Spanish male novelists 20th-century Spanish male writers 21st-century Spanish male writers