Miquel Bauçà facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Miquel Bauçà Rosselló
Born	(1940-02-07)7 February 1940 Felanitx, Mallorca
Died	2004 (aged 64) Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Language	Catalan
Nationality	Spanish (Catalan)
Notable works	Carrer Marsala (1985) El Canvi (1998)

Miquel Bauçà Rosselló ([miˈkɛl bawˈsa ro.səˈʎo]; 1940–2004) was a poet and writer from Mallorca. He wrote in the Catalan language. Many of his poems have been included in collections of modern Catalan poetry.

Bauçà was known as a talented poet from a young age. His first book, Una bella història (1962), showed his early skill. He wrote both poetry and stories. A very important work was El Canvi (1998). This book started a big writing project that he continued in his later works. Miquel Bauçà died alone in late 2004. His body was found in early 2005.

Early Life and Family

Miquel Bauçà grew up in a farming family in Felanitx, Mallorca. His mother died when he was 12 years old. After this, his father, who was quite strict, mostly raised him. Bauçà later wrote a poem in Una bella història about missing his mother.

Soon after his mother passed away, Bauçà was sent to a seminary in Palma. A seminary is a school where people train for religious work. His grandfather was well-liked by many people on the island. As a child, Miquel was described as "quiet and a little shy."

In the late 1950s, Bauçà and his friends Joan Julià Maimó, Josep Grimalt, and Joan Manresa started a young writers' group. They met in Felanitx. During this time, Bauçà might have been influenced by Blai Bonet. Bonet was a poet who wrote in the Mallorcan style. He used strong and thoughtful language.

The Catalan language was not allowed to be used much during the Franco regime. This was a time when Spain was ruled by a dictator named Franco. So, writing in Catalan was a way for Bauçà to show his beliefs. Bauçà himself wrote that not much happened in his life after he turned 18.

Career and Writing Style

Miquel Bauçà lived a very private life, almost like a hermit. This means he mostly stayed by himself. However, he was also known for having very strong and sometimes harsh opinions. He lived alone in his apartment in Barcelona. He did not own any books himself. Instead, he wrote at a long desk that "lined an entire room."

Because he lived so privately, Bauçà even refused an award for his book Carrer Marsala. He also believed that writers should be treated more fairly in their profession. Bauçà wrote in an unusual style. His experimental stories have been compared to the works of famous authors like Robert Walser, Dino Buzzati, and Franz Kafka.

Both his life and his writing made people outside of Catalonia often know him more for his unusual personality than for his actual work. Even though he was very private, his poetry was surprisingly varied. Xavier Gual, who wrote a book about Bauçà, said that he was "renowned for his verbal and social radicalism." This means he was known for his strong and direct way of speaking and thinking.

Early Works and Recognition

Bauçà's first published poetry collection was Una bella història. It was said to have "a strange, completely literal realism." It also had a sad, sharp, and fresh way of looking at things. In 2017, Pere Antoni Pons wrote that this book "represented an earthquake in the Catalan poetic scene." This means it was a very important and impactful book.

Before Una bella història, Bauçà had written two other known collections. These were La carn i el goig and Cants jubilosos. After his first book was published, Bauçà moved to Barcelona. He went there to study literature and philosophy at the university. He had a recommendation from Josep M. Llompart, who was a very important critic of island poetry. During his university years, Bauçà's unusual personality became even more noticeable.

He won several awards for his writing. However, some critics were less impressed after his first story collection, Carrer Marsala. Xavier Gual explained that Bauçà became known as a writer who was "committed to an integral idea." This means he had a complete vision for his work. He was also outside the usual literary system of his time. Despite some criticism, he continued to win awards for his later books.

Later Life and Passing

Miquel Bauçà died at an unknown time in late 2004. He passed away in his apartment in Eixample, Barcelona. His body was found by the Mossos d'Esquadra (the Catalan police) on January 3, 2005. The news was not shared with the public until over a month later. This was when he was officially identified.

In 2006, a documentary film was made about his life. It was called Miquel Bauçà, poeta invisible (Miquel Bauçà, Invisible Poet). Years after his death, a book of his early poems was found. It was published after he died. These poems had been in the collection of Pere Oliver Domenge. Domenge was a mayor of Felanitx who had lived in exile from Franco in the Philippines for a short time.

Xavier Gual wrote that Bauçà "left behind an unclassifiable literary corpus." This means he left a collection of writings that are hard to put into a specific category. Gual also said that his work "has unquestionably expanded the bounds of contemporary Catalan literature." This shows how important his writing was for Catalan literature.

Works

Poetry Collections

• Una bella història (1962) – Won the Premio Joan Salvat-Papasseit de poesía
• El noble joc (1972)
• Poemes (1973)
• Notes i comentaris (1975) – Won the Premio Vicent Andrés Estellés de poesía
• Cants jubilosos (1977) – Won the Premio en el Certamen de honor de la Mare de Déu de Sant Salvador de Felanitx
• Les Mirsines: colònia de vacances (1983)
• Obra poètica 1959-1983 (1987)
• El crepuscle encén estels (1992)
• En el feu de l'ermitage – Won the Premi Miquel de Palol de poesia
• El Canvi (1998) – Won the Premio Crítica Serra d'Or
• Els estats de connivència (2001)
• Els somnis (2003)
• Rudiments de saviesa (2005)
• Certituds immediates (2007)
• La carn i el goig (2017; written in the 1950s)

Narrative Works (Stories)

• Carrer Marsala (1985) – Won the Premio Ciudad de Barcelona
• L'estuari (1990) – Won the Premio Sant Joan de narrativa
• El vellard. L'escarcellera (1992)

See also

In Spanish: Miquel Bauçà para niños