Josep Maria Espinàs Massip (; 7 March 1927 – 5 February 2023) was a
Spanish writer, journalist and publisher known for his novels, travel writing and newspaper articles.
Author of an extensive body of literature, Espinàs was honored with the
Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes, the Premi Joanot Martorell, the Premi Sant Jordi and the Premi Víctor Català. In the 1960s he played a key role in the development of the
Nova Cançó movement, co-founding the musical group
Els Setze Jutges. Espinàs cowrote, with Jaume Picas, the lyrics to the official anthem of
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
, ''El
Cant del Barça''.
Biography
Espinàs was born on 7 March 1927 in the city of Barcelona. He studied at
Piarists
The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...
schools until 1945, when he entered the School of Law of the
Universitat de Barcelona
The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public university, public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. Wi ...
, earning his degree in 1949. That same year he won the Guimerà prize with his first article. He practiced as an attorney until 1955, when he joined the publishing house Editorial Destino.
In 1983, he was awarded the
Creu de Sant Jordi.
Espinàs was cofounder of the publishing house La Campana. He traveled extensively on foot through rural areas of Catalonia and other parts of Spain, publishing books about many of these voyages, and also traveled on foot through much of
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Literary career
In 1953 he became known as a writer when he obtained the
Joanot Martorell Prize for the novel ''Com ganivets o flames''. From this point he began to enjoy success as an author with ''Dotze bumerangs'' (1954) i ''El gandul'' (1955). With ''Tots som iguals'' (1956), which appeared in English translation in the United States in 1961 as ''By nature equal'', he gained international recognition, earning critical acclaim from the ''
New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'', ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' and the magazine ''Book of the Month.''
In 1961 he won the Premi Sant Jordi de novel·la with ''L'últim replà'', and began a long period in which he produced few novels, the exceptions being ''La collita del diable'' (1968) and ''Vermell i passa'' (1992).
In 1986 he published letters addressed to his daughter, who has
Down syndrome, under the title ''El teu nom és Olga'' (''Your name is Olga''). The book was a success and was translated into numerous languages.
La Nova Cançó
In 1961 Espinàs was one of the founders, with Miquel Porter i Moix and Remei Margarit, of
Els Setze Jutges. He sang and recorded Catalan versions of
Georges Brassens songs, traditional Catalan songs, and original compositions to further the
Nova Cançó movement, but when professional Catalan-language singers appeared he retired from singing. He also wrote and recorded a story for children, ''Viatge a la Lluna'' (''Voyage to the Moon''), with music by
Xavier Montsalvatge.
In 2007 he was awarded the Medalla d'Honor of the
Parliament of Catalonia
The Parliament of Catalonia (, ; ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 members, known as Deputy (legislator), deput ...
in recognition of his work with
Els Setze Jutges.
Journalism
On 23 April 1976, he began to publish a daily column in the new Catalan-language daily ''
Avui'', entitled ''A la vora de....'', which ran uninterrupted until January 1999, winning various awards. Later he moved to write for ''
El Periódico de Catalunya
EL, El or el may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit
* Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things''
* El, fami ...
'', with the opinion column, which he still writes.
Espinàs also hosted television interview programs, including ''Personal i intrasferible'' on
Canal 33; ''Identitats'' on
TV3, from 1984 to 1988; and ''Senyals'' on
Canal 33, from 1989 to 1990.
Bibliography and Discography
Short stories
* Vestir-se per morir. Barcelona: Albertí, 1958.
* Variétés. Barcelona: Selecta, 1959.
* Els joves i els altres. Barcelona: Albertí, 1960.
* Els germans petits de tothom. Barcelona: La Galera, 1968.
* Guia de ciutadans anònims (amb dibuixos de Cesc). Barcelona: La Campana, 1993.
* Un racó de paraigua. Barcelona: La Campana, 1997.
Novels
*Com ganivets o flames. Barcelona: Selecta, 1954.
*Dotze bumerangs. Barcelona: Albertí, 1954.
*El gandul. Barcelona: Selecta, 1955.
*Tots som iguals. Barcelona: Aymà, 1956.
*La trampa. Barcelona: Albertí, 1956.
*L´home de la guitarra. Barcelona: Albertí, 1957.
*Combat de nit. Barcelona: Aymà, 1959.
*L´últim replà. Barcelona: Club Editor, 1962.
*La collita del diable. Barcelona: Alfaguara, 1968.
*Vermell i passa. Barcelona: La Campana, 1992.
Non-fiction prose
*Petit observatori. Barcelona: Pòrtic, 1971.
*La gent tal com és. Barcelona: Selecta, 1971.
*Visions de Cadaqués. Barcelona: Grup 33, 1978.
*Els nostres objectes de cada dia. Barcelona: Ed. 62, 1981.
*El teu nom és Olga. Barcelona: La Campana, 1986.
*Inventari de jubilacions. Barcelona: La Campana, 1992.
*L'ecologisme és un egoisme. Barcelona: La Campana, 1993.
Travel narratives
*Viatge al Pirineu de Lleida. Barcelona: Selecta, 1957; Barcelona: La Campana, 2000.
*Viatge al Priorat. Barcelona: Selecta, 1962; Barcelona: La Campana, 2000.
*Viatge a la Segarra. Barcelona: Dopesa, 1972; Barcelona: La Campana, 2000.
*A peu per la Terra Alta. Barcelona: La Campana, 1989.
*A peu per la Llitera. Barcelona: La Campana, 1990.
*A peu per l'Alt Maestrat. Barcelona: La Campana, 1991.
*A peu pels camins de cendra. Barcelona: La Campana, 1994.
*A peu per l'Alcalatén. Barcelona: La Campana, 1996.
*A peu pel Matarranya. Barcelona: La Campana, 1996.
*A peu pel Comtat i la Marina. Barcelona: La Campana, 1998.
*A peu per Castella. Barcelona: La Campana, 1999.
*A peu pel País Basc. Barcelona: La Campana, 2000.
*A peu per Extremadura. Barcelona: La Campana, 2001.
*A peu per Mallorca sen veure el mar. Barcelona: La Campana, 2005.
*A peu per Aragó. El Somontano. Barcelona: La Campana, 2006.
*A peu per l´Alt Camp. Barcelona: La Campana, 2007.
*A peu per Múrcia. Barcelona: La Campana, 2009.
Literary journalism
*A la vora de l'Avui (6 vol.). Barcelona: La Llar del Llibre, 1977-1987.
Memoirs
*El nen de la plaça Ballot. Barcelona: La Campana, 1988.
*Relacions Particulars. Barcelona: La Campana, 2007.
*El meu ofici. Barcelona: La Campana, 2008.
Biography and Interviews
*Josep M. de Sagarra. Barcelona: Alcides, 1962.
*Identitats (3 vol.). Barcelona: La Campana, 1985-1988.
*
Lluís Llach. Història de les seves cançons explicada a Josep Maria Espinàs: La Campana, 1986.
Other
*Carrers de Barcelona. Barcelona: Selecta, 1961.
*Barcelona, blanc i negre (amb
Xavier Miserachs). Barcelona: Aymà, 1964.
*Això també és Barcelona. Barcelona: Lumen, 1965.
*Els germans petits de tothom. Barcelona: La Galera, 1988.
*Viatge pels grans magatzems. Barcelona: La Campana, 1993.
Theatre
*És perillós fer-se esperar. Barcelona: Nereida, 1959.
Work written in Spanish
*Guía del Pirineo de Lérida, 1958 (Travel narrative).
*Guía de Tarragona, Barcelona: Ed. Noguer, 1964 (Travel narrative).
*Pi de la Serra, Oviedo: Ed. Júcar, 1974 (Non-fiction).
Discography with Els Setze Jutges
* Espinàs canta Brassens (Josep Maria Espinàs), 1962.
* Cançons tradicionals catalanes (Josep Maria Espinàs), 1962.
* Espinàs canta les seves cançons (Josep Maria Espinàs), 1963.
* Nadal a casa (Josep Maria Espinàs - Maria Cinta), 1963.
* Tu no estàs sol (Josep Maria Espinàs), 1963.
* Josep Maria Espinàs i orquestra (Josep Maria Espinàs), 1964.
* Els planificadors (Josep Maria Espinàs), 1965.
* Els noctàmbuls (Josep Maria Espinàs), 1966.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinas, Josep Maria
1927 births
2023 deaths
Catalan-language writers
Catalan-language singers
Writers from Barcelona
Journalists from Barcelona
Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes winners
20th-century Spanish male writers