Benguerel, Xavier, 1905-1990
(Updated 08/10/2024)
Xavier Benguerel i Llobet was born in Barcelona in 1905 and he died in 1990. Novelist, translator and editor. Author of twenty novels, a book of poetry, collections of short stories and memoirs, many of his works are set in Poble Nou, his native district in Barcelona. He was in exile during the civil war in France and, in Roissy-en-Brie, he met Mercè Rodoreda, Augustí Bartra, Joan Oliver and Francesc Trabal, among others. He then went to Santiago de Chile where he founded a pharmaceutical company and a publishing house, El Pi de les Tres Branques, with Joan Oliver. In 1954 he returned to Catalonia and created the El Club dels Novel·listes with Joan Sales. He translated works by Paul Valéry, Edgar Allan Poe, Lafontaine and Charles Baudelaire. Among the awards he received include the Premi Ignasi Iglesias in 1936 and the Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes in 1988.
The Biblioteca de Catalunya holds his personal papers, which contain correspondence, originals of his literary works and private documents.
Who is who (Institució de les Lletres Catalanes)
Xavier Benguerel i Llobet Collection at the Biblioteca de Catalunya
