Josep Pla, el catalán anglófilo, by Ignacio Peyró
On Thursday 7th November 2019 at 18:00, the University of Leeds is hosting a public talk on the novelist and journalist Josep Pla, which in turn will be given by the also writer and journalist Ignacio Peyró, who will present his analysis of the writer in a talk entitled Josep Pla, el catalán anglófilo.
Josep Pla i Casadevall (Palafrugell, 1897 – Llufriu, 191) was a Spanish writer and journalist who wrote in both Spanish and Catalan. In fact, he is considered the most important figure in contemporary Catalan literature, essential in the modernization of the language and fundamental in the dissemination of Catalan traditions and customs. He is also an important Spanish author and his vast legacy covers a wide range of genres.
Pla was initially a correspondent in Madrid, and later a chronicler of his travels to a large number of destinations including Israel, Cuba, New York and the Middle East, South America and the Soviet Union. As well as France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
An aspect that is not well known about Josep Pla is his Anglophilia. His admiration for all things British, including its literature and institutional traditions. In his articles Pla writes, for example, about the pubs and their particular lighting, the British legacy in Menorca, the diaries of Nicholson or the political highs of Gladstone. This and more will be covered in Peyró´s talk.
Ignacio Peyró (Madrid, 1980) is the author of Comimos y bebimos (Libros del asteroide, 2017), Pompa y circunstancia. Diccionario sentimental de la cultura Inglesa (Fórcola, 2014) and La vista desde aquí. Una conversación con Valentí Puig (Elba, 2017). As well as the translator and author of the prologues for some of the works of Waugh, Auchincloss, Huysmans, Kipling, Valle and Assia to name but a few. Since 2017, Ignacio Peyró is the director of the London Instituto Cervantes.
Talk in Spanish. Free and open to everyone. No booking needed. Capacity of the room: 216 seats.
