Antoni Comas i Pujol facts for kids
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Antoni Comas i Pujol
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Antoni Comas i Pujol (born January 3, 1931, in Mataró – died March 24, 1981, in Barcelona) was a very important expert in literature. He studied and wrote about the history of books and stories. He was also a literary critic, meaning he reviewed and analyzed books. Antoni Comas was a member of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans and the Acadèmia de Bones Lletres. He was married to Dolors Lamarca and they had three daughters.
Early Life and Education
Antoni Comas shared a lot about his childhood and youth. He grew up in Mataró in a working-class family with strong Christian beliefs. He went to Escola Pia, a school in his city. There, he found a love for learning. Even during Franco's regime, the school taught him to respect Catalan culture and language.
Outside of school, Antoni was very active in groups like Foment Mataroní and Lluïsos. These were places where young people who cared about culture and their community would meet. The Popular Library, near his school, was also very important for his learning. He once said, "I read many, many works of Catalan and foreign literature, not only with delight, but with avidity." This shows how much he loved to read.
In 1948, he started studying Philosophy and Letters at the University of Barcelona. Some of his most important teachers were Antoni M. Badia i Margarit and Martí de Riquer. He also secretly attended Catalan University Studies, which were not allowed by the government at the time. In his early university years, he helped create a secret student magazine called Curial. Six issues were published between 1949 and 1950 before it was shut down. In 1953, he graduated with top honors in Romance Philology.
University Professor and Researcher
After graduating, Antoni Comas began teaching at the university. He also worked on his doctorate degree, which he earned in 1953. His doctorate was about the work of a troubadour named Ramon Vidal de Besalú. In 1960, he started teaching Catalan language regularly at the University of Barcelona. This was a big deal because it was during Franco's regime, when Catalan was often suppressed.
In 1965, Antoni Comas won a competition to become the head of the Catalan Language and Literature department. This position had been removed 25 years earlier by Franco after the Spanish Civil War. As a professor and later as the director of the Catalan Philology Department, Comas worked hard to keep Catalan culture and language alive. He connected new efforts with the work of earlier generations, like Carles Riba and Salvador Espriu.
He believed that teaching and researching Catalan language and literature was a great way to help Catalan society use and promote its native language again. Many people remember his excellent teaching and how much he helped his students. For example, Jordi Llovet wrote that Antoni Comas helped shape him as a person and an intellectual.
Antoni Comas did a lot of research on Catalan literature, from medieval times to modern authors. One of his most important studies looked at the period from 1714 (after the War of Succession) to the Peninsular War. This research changed how people viewed this time in Catalan literature. Before, it was often called a "period of decadence" or decline. Comas showed that Catalan language and culture continued to be used and developed. He also connected the 18th century with the Renaixença, a time of cultural rebirth.
His study won an award from the Institut d'Estudis Catalans. It became the fourth volume of the History of Catalan Literature, a major work started by Martí de Riquer. Antoni Comas's work showed the importance of popular literature in Catalan-speaking regions. In 2013, a public library in Mataró was named after him: Biblioteca Antoni Comas.
He also studied important Spanish writers like Teresa de Jesús, Joan Boscà, and Góngora. He created special editions of their works. Through his writings, he also helped spread knowledge about Catalan literature in schools and to the general public.
Selected Works
- Història de Literatura Catalana. Barcelona: Ariel, 1980-1981. (With Martí de Riquer).
- Estudis de literatura catalana (segles XVI-XVIII). Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona/Curial Edicions Catalans, 1985.
- La Decadència. Barcelona: Dopesa, 1978.
- “La cultura catalana en la época del Barroco” in Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Historia de la Cultura Española: El Siglo del Qujote (1580-1680). Vol. II, Madrid: Espasa Calpe, 1996.
- Obras poeticas de Juan Boscan.. Barcelona: Cátedra Ciudad de Barcelona, 1957. (With M.de Riquer and J. Molas).
- Góngora : su tiempo y su obra : estudio especial del Polifemo / Antonio. Barcelona: Teide, 1960. (With Joan Reglà).
See also
In Spanish: Antoni Comas i Pujol para niños
