Abelló Year will commence at the Ostal d’Occitania arts centre (Toulouse) with a triple homage to the poetess: the opening of an exhibition of prints inspired by poems by Abelló, a poetry reading (in Catalan, Occitan and French) and a musical performance. Accompanying the homage there will be an exhibition from the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes: “Visc i torno a reviure”, a significant look at the life and literary career of Montserrat Abelló.
The exhibition of prints inspired by verses by Montserrat Abelló produced by the Atelier de Gravure Croix Baragnon and directed by Claudiette Ferrié opened to the public on 2nd January. The show was first seen two years ago as part of the National Poetry Festival in Sant Cugat.
Opening the first commemoration of Montserrat Abelló in France will be Laura Borràs, curator of Abelló Year, who will make a presentation of the poetess’s life and work. Borràs is a lecturer at Barcelona University, a literary critic and a writer.
Montserrat Abelló i Soler (Tarragona, 1918 - Barcelona, 2014) was a Catalan poetess and translator. She published a dozen books of poems, including Vida diària (1963), Foc a les mans (1990), Dins l’esfera del temps (1998), Memòria de tu i de mi (2006) and Enllà de parlar concís (2014). She also translated English-language poets such as Sylvia Plath, and won several important awards, such as the Premi d’Honor de les Lletres Catalanes (2008), and the National Prize for Culture (2008).
