Paella sparks discussions even on the day it appears as a prize. On March 1st, the day Òmnium Cultural awarded Josep Piera (Beniopa, 1947) the Prize of Honor for Catalan Letters, the entity did so with a Valencian paella, large in diameter, but, alas!, the debate began. "That it was white, and not yellow, that it wasn't right for me to be given the prize along with a paella because it was associating me with a cliché, it was even said that from now on Majorcans should receive prizes with ensaïmades, and Catalans, with botifarra and beans", calmly explains the writer Josep Piera in Lleida, where he has gone to participate in the Lleida Poetry Festival. But if Josep Piera has dedicated dozens of pages to paella! If he has dedicated countless hours of study to paella! If the angels sing to the paella that Josep Piera cooks!

The Valencian poet, narrator, essayist, columnist, and translator, Josep Piera (Beniopa, 1947), has died at the age of 78. He considered himself primarily a poet, but he left a handful of memorable prose books, among which are El cingle verd (Destino, 1982) – for which he won the Josep Pla prize–, Estiu grec (Destino, 1985), and Ací s'acaba tot (Edicions 62, 1993), which the young publisher Cap de Brot reissued in a corrected and expanded version. In 2023, he received the 55th Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes (Honorary Prize for Catalan Literature), awarded by Òmnium Cultural. At that time, he expressed his astonishment at receiving the award and how he understood literature: "I find this writing in the name of everyone to be extraordinarily presumptuous. One writes about what one knows, what one feels, and about oneself. But this must become shareable, symbolic. Otherwise, what the hell can interest others? This is where literature comes in, and I am an animal of words," he stated.

The Valencian poet, narrator, essayist, columnist, and translator, Josep Piera (Beniopa, Gandía, 1947), has passed away at the age of 78. He considered himself primarily a poet, but he left behind a handful of memorable prose books, including El cingle verd (Destino, 1982) – with which he won the Josep Pla award – Estiu grec (Destino, 1985) and Ací s'acaba tot (Edicions 62, 1993), which the young publishing house Cap de Brot reissued in a corrected and expanded version. In 2023, he received the 55th Honorary Award for Catalan Literature, presented by Òmnium Cultural. At that time, he expressed his astonishment at receiving the award and how he understood literature: "This business of writing on behalf of everyone seems extraordinarily presumptuous to me. One writes about what one knows, what one feels, and about oneself. But that must become shareable, symbolic. Otherwise, why on earth would it interest others? This is where literature comes in, and I am an animal of words," he assured.

Now that the year-end book lists seem to be over (summary: we're against lists, but if we're included, we like them more), I'd like to draw attention to two books that I think are important: Between two dark, by Antoni Vidal Ferrando (Ediciones Proa) and Everything is waves, by Josep Piera (Editorial Asuntos). One in verse and the other in prose, one author from Mallorca and the other from Valencia, one born in 1945 and the other in 1947, two essential authors of contemporary Catalan literature.

Although Josep Piera (Beniopa, 1947) considers himself above all a poet, he has left a handful of memorable prose books, among them The green cliff (Destino, 1982) –with which he won the award Josep Pla–, Greek Summer (Destiny, 1985) and This is where it all ends (Ediciones 62, 1993), which the young publishing house Cabo de Brot has just republished in a corrected and expanded version. "The epilogue that Josep has now written has made us cry with emotion," admits Josep Maria Codina, who together with Germán Bartolomé and Judit Pujol has just launched a project that has already presented its first three titles: Birds of clay, of Santiago Rusiñol; The mark of the hook, by Laura G. Ortensi, and This is where it all ends.

Cap de Brot is the name of a new literary publishing house based in Girona, which publishes books in Catalan under a clear motto: "A publishing house that is not afraid." It will not be, because it is heading out to readers with three excellent but far from obvious books: the second book of poems by Laura G. Ortensi, an excellent young poet, entitled The mark of the hook, and two recoveries of classics, one deceased and one very much alive: Birds of clay, by Santiago Rusiñol, and This is where it all ends, by Josep Piera. Titles by Carme Guasch, Lluís Lucero Comas and Giordano Andriola, translated by Josep Domènech Ponsatí, will follow shortly. The books that come out of this Cape of Brot are beautiful, well designed, even neat, and make for good reading and good company.