Catalan Literary Masters and Post-War Theater Evolution

Josep Maria Benet i Jornet: A Playwright's Evolution

Josep Maria Benet i Jornet's early theater was realistic, characterized by reflection on the individual and the society that surrounds them. His work later evolved to explore more intimate and existential themes.

Key Realistic Plays

• Berenàveu a les fosques (1972)
• Quan la ràdio parlava de Franco (1979)

Children's Theater Contributions

He also cultivated children's theater with works like:

• Supertot (1975)
• El somni de Bagdad (1977)

Awards and Other Works

Benet i Jornet received the National Prize for Literature in the dramatic literature category in 1995 for his play Morir. Additionally, he was the first scriptwriter for telenovelas produced by Catalan television.

Enric Valor: Grammarian, Folklorist, and Novelist

Enric Valor's extensive work encompasses a threefold dimension: grammar, folk literature, and creative narrative.

A Master Storyteller

Valor is recognized as a solid storyteller, deeply rooted in the nineteenth-century realist and rural novel tradition. His work exhibits a duality of modernist rural/urban style, employing a meticulously crafted language. This language serves as a model of balanced prose, maintaining grammatical correctness without losing the authentic voice of rural people.

The Cassana Trilogy: A Masterpiece

His masterpiece is the trilogy about Cassana:

• Sense la terra promesa
• Temps de batre
• L'únic horitzó

His narratives vividly portray society in the first half of the twentieth century.

Evolution of Catalan Theater: Mid-20th Century Movements

In the mid-fifties, the allowance of foreign work translations invigorated Catalan theater. This facilitated its modernization, introducing neorealism, new currents, and the influence of existentialist and epic theater. These developments propelled Catalan theater in the sixties towards social realism, notably after the founding of the Adrià Gual School of Dramatic Art.

Impact of the Adrià Gual School

This influential group introduced new European theatrical trends and played a crucial role in the training of actors, directors, and authors. Social drama, in particular, adopted two main forms: documentary theater and political satire.

Notable Theater Groups and Authors

Other prestigious theater groups that emerged include Dagoll Dagom and El Tricicle. Among the noteworthy authors of this period is Josep Maria Benet i Jornet.

Manuel de Pedrolo: A Prolific and Persecuted Author

Manuel de Pedrolo, author of over a hundred novels, was frequently persecuted by censors. His novels explore diverse themes, including sexual and political repression, human loneliness and alienation, social conflict, visions of future worlds, and the capacity for human solidarity.

Diverse Narrative Genres

He employed a wide array of narrative genres to address these themes, ranging from detective novels to symbolic and allegorical fiction, science fiction, and existentialist works. His writing also encompassed social realism, utopian narratives, and autobiographical elements.