The translator and expert on Mercè Rodoreda Anna Maria Saludes dies
She was the daughter of Susina Amat, one of the great friends of the writer of 'La plaza del Diamant'
BarcelonaThe translator, teacher, and Mercè Rodoreda expert Anna Maria Saludes (Bayonne, France, 1939 - Santa Cristina d'Aro, 2025) has died at the age of 86, according to the Association of Catalan Language Writers (AELC). Saludes was the daughter of the painter and teacher Susina Amat (Barcelona, 1912-1983), one of Mercè Rodoreda's great friends along with Julieta Franquesa, and the Republican Ernest Saludes. The daughter of Republican parents, who worked for the Propaganda Commissariat of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), she was born in exile. When she was two years old, she returned to Catalonia, where she grew up surrounded by books and works of art. With a degree in Romance languages, she moved to Italy in 1974, where she lived for 40 years. There she dedicated herself to teaching Catalan language and literature, first at the University of Naples and then at the University of Florence.
Saludes combined his teaching with translation work, especially of Rodoreda's works. He translated into Italian Aloma (1987), Diamond Square (1990), Broken mirror (1992) and How much, how much war (1994), apart from the stories It looked like silk (1986) and Paralysis (1992) and the play Magnolia Park (1987). Saludes also translated into Italian the Childish doctrine by Ramon Llull (2003) together with Anna Baggiani and the Futuristic poems by Joan Salvat-Papasseit (1990).
"Rodoreda was a very nice and cordial person. When I met her I didn't think anything of it; she came to my house to say hello to my parents. But then I started reading her novels, I asked her questions and we talked. She was charming, I was eager to see her because you always laughed a lot with her," Saludes explained. Throughout her career in the publishing world, Saludes specialized in Rodoreda's work and published articles and studies related to the writer's work. In 2010 she wrote the prologue and sanar the Letters to Mercè Rodoreda by Armand Obiols, published in 2010 under the imprint of the La Mirada Foundation. She also collaborated on the publication of letters between friends Mercè Rodoreda, Susina Amat, Julieta Franquesa, and Carme Manrubia. She was an honorary member of the Association of Catalan Language Writers (AELC).
