With the knowledge of an old man, the prestige of his curriculum vitae and the humor of a child, Josep Vallverdú integrates a character that is difficult to forget
Josep Vallverdú will soon celebrate his centenary. One hundred years of an impeccable CV. Philologist, narrator, novelist and poet, translator, teacher, essayist, cartoonist and columnist, author of more than 200 works, Sant Jordi Cross, Gold Medal by the Generalitat, honorary doctor of the Lleida University and member of the Institute of Catalan Studies. To write his biography would require many pages and, as a colophon, the Government has decided that in 2023 his centenary will be commemorated.
Sitting in the dining room of his last house in Balaguer, Vallverdú attended me with the kindness of a humble and sincere person. Dropping fantastic sentences from a wise old man, a king of words and a crazy and funny man.
At the end of the interview, he recalled Josep Pla and defined life as "a series of punches that occasionally gives you a breath". And he admits that he has never been a gallant, "but always funny".