Politician and writer Ignasi Riera i Gassiot dies at 85
Author of an extensive work focused on the workers' struggle and immigration, he often combined criticism with irony in his writing.
BarcelonaThe writer, politician, editor and cultural manager Ignasi Riera i Gassiot (Barcelona, 1940) has died at the age of 85 in Madrid, where he had lived since 2003. Author of an extensive body of work including novels, short stories, essays and biographies, he studied for a time at the seminary and eventually abandoned Catholicism for Marxism.
With a degree in philosophy and letters in theology from the Faculty of the Society of Jesus in Sant Cugat del Vallès and in Romance philology from the University of Barcelona, he left the seminary in 1969 and went to live in Cornellà de Llobregat. He was a councilor for this town for the PSUC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) for 15 years, holding the Culture portfolio, and was a deputy in the Parliament of Catalonia for ICV in the 1988-1992 legislature and after the 1995 elections.
"We want to express our deep condolences for the death of I social justice in our city and in the country," they expressed in a statement of condolence from Cornellà en Comú. "He is part of the living history of Cornellà, a city that, as he himself said, "has always fought" for dignity, equality and social rights," adds the party.
A prolific writer
Riera published more than fifty books, becoming one of the country's most critical voices and a keen observer of cultural, social, and political issues. His work includes The Grandparents' Revolt (2005), Battle letter (1995), Honorable Mr. (Andromina prize for narrative, 1980) and Blah, blah, blah... (Pere Quart Prize for humor and satire, 1989).Examples of his great storytelling ability are Natalia and other stories (1995), The Esplugues Bridge Clock (Ramon Llull Prize, 1984), Do not pull out geraniums (1984) and A deputy for nothing (1992). Among the non-fiction books, the following stand out: My uncle Pere Quart (1992), An exemplary patriotr (1997), Franco's Catalans (1998), Travelers from Barcelona (2000), A Catalan in Madrid (2004) and Memoirs of a gluttonous child (Roc Boronat short story award, 2005).
"Writing has been very helpful for me in getting organized. I live a very extroverted and, at the same time, very introverted life. I keep my privacy very protected, because I believe that everyone should have a certain privacy. There are stories, but in which I go beyond this intimacy." Sierra de Oro. In the same interview, he explained that one of his obsessions was to understand a woman from the inside. "At times I've thought that, without feeling transvestite, I would like to be a woman. I would like to understand the world from a female perspective. And I don't do theater!"
The writer Marta Pessarrodona defined him, in an article published in 1997, as an author "with an already prolific body of work governed by a point of view that we could define, to put it simply, as a rejection of surplus value." And she continued: "An original. A work where irony is frequently used – a golden quality for any author of the two extra-literary genres – and where the tree of opinion does not cloud his vision of the forest of human life. They often held gatherings, and intellectuals such as Mariano Manent, Antoni Claver, Joan Triadú and Ferran Canyameres, among others, met. In addition, Carles Riba had a house very close to ours and I saw him often. I am also related, on two sides, to Pere Quart. As you can see, I was born into the world of books and I knew very well from a young age that I would end up writing. My father told me one day: "Those of us who were born in this branch are already stained with ink." This phrase, quite significant, I have never forgotten," he explained in an interview in The Weather.
Riera was also actively involved in defending human rights through organizations such as the Sahara Solidarity Group and SOS Racism. The vigil will be held at the San Isidro funeral home in Madrid, and a ceremony is also planned in Cornellà.