Often, when talking about literary prizes, their endowment is quickly mentioned, whether so many euros or so many more. But there are also some like the Lletra d'Or, in which the award is a jewel. Yesterday the jewel, both metaphorical and real, went to Teresa Pascual (Gandia, 1952) for the poems of Tot passa baix, published by LaBreu, who, as tradition dictates, invited the press to lunch.
The meal was in the restaurant of the Laie bookstore, but before that the publisher Ester Andorrà wanted to thank the award that had just arrived from Paris, where Jaume Pont had received the Mallarmé Étranger award for the French translation of Mirall de negra nit by François- Michel Durazzo, and the repercussion of the Llibreter prize awarded to Cristina Garcia Molina for Els irredempts is still hard on them.
It was later when Manuel Capdevila, the third generation of jewelers – the first was his grandfather, of the same name, in 1956 – awarded Pascual the gold insignia with the Greek letter fi (ɸ), a classic symbol of balance, as the author of the best book in Catalan from 2022.
Immediately afterwards, Míriam Cano read the gloss that Pau Sanchis had written on behalf of the jury – also made up of Àngels Gregori, Bel Olid, Andreu Gomila, Llucia Ramis, Cristina Clemente and Pau Miró –, and which stated that Tot passa baix is “a book of poetry of profound humanity, where everyday gestures and family memories become a category", which is situated "in the space between the world and feeling, between being and saying, between the living and the dead" . A poetry “of philosophical investigation” that “is not effusive, but it does contain intense, deep emotions, everything passes beneath and everything happens within.” A book, finally, that deserves the award “for that reason, and because in banal times we need poets and philosophers who think without guardrails.”
Afterwards, Pascual was grateful that the gap had been put to an end since Joan Francesc Mira won the award in 1985, the last Valencian winner – although two years ago it was won by Núria Cadenes, who has lived in Valencia since the nineties and did it for Guillem, a book located there. “It is important that we maintain the links, and we have to work on it, not just say it,” with the hope that although “the times are what they are,” “things do not change much, although depending on the contexts we cannot speak now.” nor from Països Catalans nor even from País Valenciano.” Pascual explained that the award gives him “joy and encouragement,” especially “an award like this, even though at home I don't talk much about literary life.” And he remembered his granddaughter asking him: “Uela, don't you like receiving an award?” And yes, she told him yes, but that “the important thing is that the book has quality, knowing that it is important in itself,” because “the books continue their progress independently of us.”
And we ate, with Pascual well accompanied by her friends Montse Barderi and Neus Aguado, the press, the editor, the jeweler and the usual topics, yes poetry, yes (cultural) politics, yes love, friendship , that or that, that if it's too cold and she closes the door... "We have to hold on to the life and the world we have, because there is no other," the poet had said before, who now wants to place herself "in the matter and in the senses.”
