Napalm in the Heart, with Pol Guasch

Napalm in the Heart is the first novel by Catalan author Pol Guasch. Narrated in the first person, we witness the relationship between the narrator and another young man, surrounded by adverse conditions. The novel explores themes such as the lack of communication between a son and his mother, the invasion and occupation of a territory, the use of different languages, and escape and exile. To discuss these themes and the translation of this novel into English, we bring together Catalan author Pol Guasch and Brazilian-Irish poet Rafael Mendes.

Pol Guasch (Tarragona, 1997) is the author of Napalm in the Heart (Llibres Anagrama Novel Prize 2021), which has been translated into a dozen languages: "A world of desire and survival, the aftermath of the apocalypse marked by different languages, a repression difficult to identify and a writing as mysterious as it is beautiful" (Mariana Enriquez). He has written the poetry books Tanta gana (Francesc Garriga Prize 2018) and La parte del fuego (López-Picó Prize 2021). In 2022 he received the Talent on Board Award from the Eñe Festival in Madrid and the 42 Revelation Prize in Catalan. The English translation of Napalm in the Heart has been named one of the best books of the year by The New Yorker. His latest novel is En las manos, el paraíso quema (Anagrama, 2024).

Rafael Mendes is a Brazilian-Irish migrant whose work has recently appeared or is upcoming in Poetry Ireland Review, Propel Magazine, and Poetry Salzburg Review. He is a 2023 Poetry Ireland Introductee and was awarded the 2023 Irish Writers Centre/Tyrone Guthrie Centre Lacuna Bursary. He is a PhD candidate in Latin American Studies at Trinity College Dublin and a creative writing workshop facilitator.

Napalm in the Heart, with Pol Guasch

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