22/01/2016

Marta Lagarriga, wife of author Carles Pujol, talks to Humanities students about her husband

The wife of author Carles Pujol, who passed away in 2012, visited UIC Barcelona as part of the Interdisciplinary Workshop seminar on the writer organised by the Faculty of Humanities. Pujol was also a lecturer in this Faculty.

Humanist Carles Pujol was a novelist, poet, translator and literary critic who, through his work, conveyed real humanism: a unique approach to life. The author was also a jury member for the Planeta Awards for many years.

The Faculty invited Marta Lagarriga, the author's wife, to take part in a relaxed interview with students to give them a better understanding of who this author was. She described him as a man who strived to remain inconspicuous. The event was hosted by Dolors Massot, one of the couple's friends.

During the interview, Lagarriga –a painter by trade– quoted Pujol numerous times. "Having a literary life would be disastrous. Thank goodness I was never successful", he used to say. According to Massot, the author was "discreet and benevolent, with a great sense of humour, capable of laughing at his own grave".

The Interdisciplinary Workshop, which took place between 19 and 22 January, also included seminars led by a number of university lecturers and experts, such as Fernando Valls, Laura Figueras, Carlos Velilla, Jordi Puigdomènech, Valentí Puig, Olga Nafría and Gaston Gilabert, the Workshop's coordinator. The Dean of the Faculty Teresa Vallès, introduced the Workshop. Vallès pointed out that Pujol's work "is timeless and does not belong to any movement. He is unique in and of himself".

The students also had the opportunity to present their projects on Pujol's literary ideas and novels.