Xavier Albertí recommends a book to rediscover Josep Maria de Sagarra
The theatre director vindicates the figure and the work of the writer with 'Sagarra, seen by his intimates'
Barcelona"These days I am rereading the first attempt at a biography of Josep Maria de Sagarra (1894-1961). Unfortunately, our country still does not have a proper biography of the writer," explains the theater director Xavier Albertí. The book that has him captivated and that he recommends is Sagarra, seen by his intimates (Edhasa, 1982), which the journalist Lluís Permanyer (1939-2025) published four decades ago based on testimonies from people in the writer's closest circle. "Lluís Permanyer passed away recently, and I think we need to re-evaluate the work of documenting his personal relationship with Sagarra and everything he tells us about it. It is an essential book for understanding Sagarra's figure and work, and at the same time, for dispelling a great number of prejudices that this man carries with him," claims Albertí, who this summer has presented two shows at the Dansàneu festival.
Sagarra, seen by his intimates, reissued by La Campana in 1991 (and currently out of print), is, along with the text that Josep Maria Espinàs dedicated to him in Relacions particulars (La Campana, 2007), the only attempt at a biography of Sagarra. "Lluís Permanyer took advantage of the exceptional relationship he had with Joan de Sagarra and with Mercè Devesa, the writer's wife and an exceptional poet whom her husband overshadowed, to construct this literary work," points out Albertí. The book includes conversations with Devesa and other people close to Sagarra. It also includes some photographs that reflect the life of the poet and writer to vindicate his entire career and his devotion to Catalonia.
