friday, 7 april 3:00 pm
Presentation of the Joan Coromines Chair of Catalan Studies
Coulter Lounge

saturday, 8 april 11:30-1:00 pm
Catalan Women Writers: A Critical Dialogue
Coulter Lounge

Carme Riera is Professor of Spanish Literature at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and author of short stories and novels in Catalan. In 1975 she first established her reputation with her collection of stories, Te deix, amor, la mar com a penyora (I Leave You, Love , the Sea as my Pledge) (Columna, Proa), which has been published in more than thirty-five editions. This work was followed by, amongst others, Jo pos per testimoni les gavines (Columna,1977), Una Primavera per a Domenico Guarini (A Springtime for Domenico Guarini) (Ed.62,1980), (Prudenci Bertrana Prize), Epitelis tendríssims (Ed.62,1981), Qüestió d´amor propi ( A Matter of Self-esteem ) (Columna,1987), Joc de miralls (Mirror Images) (Planeta,1991 ), Contra l´amor en companyia (Destino,1991).

Her novel Dins el darrer blau (In the Last Shade of Blue) (Destino, 1994), received the Josep Pla Prize, the Joan Crexells Prize, the Lletra d´or ( Golden Letter ) Prize given by the critics for the best book of the year, the Premio Nacional de Narrativa (National Prize for Narrative) (1995), which was awarded to a Catalan literary work for the first time, and the Premi Internacional Vittorini (Vittorini Prize for best foreign novel) .

In 1998 she brought out Temps d´una espera (Columna), a reflection on pregnancy and maternity. In 2000 her novel Cap al cel obert (To the Open Sky ) (Destino) was awarded the Serra d'Or Critics' Prize and the Generalitat de Catalunya's National Prize for Literature. Her novel La meitat de l' anima (One Half of the Soul ) (Proa, 2004) was awarded the Sant Jordi Prize (2003) and the Maria Àngels Anglada Prize (2005).

She has been a visiting professor at the universities of Gainesville College and Dartmouth College in the United States , and has taught courses and given lectures and seminars at a number of universities in Europe and America . She has been invited by the Joan Corominas Professorship at the University of Chicago to spend the March - June 2006 trimester there.

She has published several studies on Spanish poetry La escuela de Barcelona (1987) , which was awarded the essay prize Premio Anagrama de ensayo 1987, La obra poética de Carlos Barral (1990) and Hay veneno y jazmín en su tinta (1988 and 1991), dedicated to the poetry of José Agustín Goytisolo, as well as editions of poetry from the Golden Age and the 20th century. She directs the collection Clásicos y Raros for Editorial Montesinos.

She has also written television scripts and collaborated on various media projects. Her work has been translated into Spanish, Greek, Dutch, German, English, Italian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Turkish and Slovenian.

In 2005 she published El Quijote desde el nacionalismo catalán and was curator of the exhibition that Barcelona dedicated to Quixote.

She is an academician of the Real Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona Royal Academy of Letters of Barcelona and holder of the Creu de Sant Jordi Cross of Sant Jordi. She has received a number of awards, including the Ramon Llull Prize, the Rosalia de Castro Prize, and the Jaume Fuster Memorial Prize.