Joan Salvat-Papasseit (Barcelona, 1894–1924) had a short and difficult life, but more than a century after his death he is still remembered thanks to his avant-garde, direct and transparent verses, collected in books such as L'irradiador del port i les gavines (Tallers Atenes A.G., 1921) and El poema de la rosa als llavis (Llibreria Nacional Catalana, 1923). "The love for Salvat-Papasseit has nothing to do only with the emotional quality of his poetry, but with those who kept the flame of his memory alive," argues editor Jordi Cornudella – who recovered his Poesia completa at Edicions 62 in 2024 – during the presentation of an essential volume to bring back to life the author's work, Sobre Salvat-Papasseit i altres escrits, by Tomàs Garcés (Barcelona, 190–1993).

Marina Garcés (Barcelona, ​​​​1973) says that the first impact of a strange friendship is the film ET., which she saw when she was nine years old. "It radically raises the question of where unconditional love lies with a different being, in this case so bizarre that it's literally extraterrestrial." A friendship between a child and a chili pepper from another planet confronts you with a question: what does it mean to love unconditionally? This is one of the questions the Catalan philosopher poses. in his latest book, The passion of strangers (Galaxia Gutenberg).

How many real friends do you have? Have you ever felt the fear of not having friends? Do you have friends of the opposite sex? Do you have a guilty conscience for not caring about your friends? How much truth, how much lies, and how much secrecy can a friendship endure? These are recurring, age-old questions. Questions as important as they are uncomfortable. That's why we avoid them. Friendship is a mystery. It is, as Marina Garcés says in the essay: The passion of strangers (Galaxia Gutenberg), the only form of stable social interaction that isn't institutionalized or regulated: it's free, without rules, without paperwork, between equals. It depends only on the will of those who sustain it, on the rituals and habits that are created. It is born and dies by spontaneous generation. No two friendships are alike. That's why it's sometimes difficult to know who is and isn't your friend. Friendship has a wonderful element of unease, of desire, of promise.