Jaume Vallcorba Plana facts for kids
Jaume Vallcorba Plana (born September 21, 1949 – died August 23, 2014) was a Spanish expert in languages and literature and a successful publisher. He was known for starting two important publishing companies.
Life and career
Jaume Vallcorba Plana was born in Tarragona, a city in Catalonia, Spain. He studied Arts at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Later, he earned his PhD from the University of Barcelona. His PhD work focused on Josep Maria Junoy and early European art movements.
He worked as a teacher and professor of Literature at several universities. These included the University of Bordeaux, the University of Lleida, the University of Barcelona, and the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. He stopped teaching at universities in 2004.
Jaume Vallcorba was a permanent member of the Royal Academy of Doctors of Catalonia. He was also an expert in medieval art and literature.
His biggest contribution to the world of books was his new way of looking at early 20th-century art movements. He also started two publishing houses: Quaderns Crema in 1979 and Editorial Acantilado in 1999. He led both companies from the very beginning.
Through his publishing work, he helped launch the careers of many new writers in the Catalan language. These included famous authors like Quim Monzó, Sergi Pàmies, and Empar Moliner.
His Spanish book catalog included many great classic authors. He helped bring back interest in writers like Chateaubriand, James Boswell, and Montaigne by publishing new editions of their works. He also introduced many European authors to Spanish readers, such as Pessoa, Imre Kertész, Stefan Zweig, and Joseph Roth. He brought many contemporary Central European writers and new Spanish-speaking talents to public attention.
He wrote many studies about art and literature. The poet J. V. Foix personally asked him to publish his poems. Jaume Vallcorba also published the poetry of Josep Maria Junoy.
He passed away in Barcelona.
Prizes and awards
Jaume Vallcorba Plana received many important prizes for his work. Some of these include:
- FAD (Promotion of the Decorative Arts) Gold Medal (2001)
- National Prize for Best Individual Contribution to Publishing (2002)
- City Council of Barcelona Gold Medal for Cultural Merit (2004)
- Grand Order of Merit for Cultural Contribution from the Republic of Poland (2005)
- Publishing Merit Award at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (2010)
- Nominee for the International Zbigniew Herbert Award First Edition, Poland (2013)
- National Prize of Culture from the Government of Catalonia (2014)
