Culture

"Les nits blanques", de Dostoievski, cinquè integrant de la col·lecció literària de la UPF

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 10:04:38 +0000

"White Nights" by Dostoyevsky, fifth volume of the UPF literary collection Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/03/2021 - 11:54

Summary

UPF and UPF-BSM commemorate the bicentennial of the birth of Fyodor Dostoyevsky with the publication of White Nights, co-published with Angle Editorial.

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Tue, 12/14/2021 - 12:00

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Pompeu Fabra University and UPF Barcelona School of Management are commemorating the bicentenary of the birth of Fyodor Dostoyevsky with the publication of White Nights ("Les nits blanques") –in a bilingual edition in Russian and Catalan–, the fifth work in the Literary Collection of the Culture Program, launched in 2017.

"For the UPF university community to come together around the reading of a classic is an essential collective gesture that opens perspectives and changes points of view", says the Vice Rector for Educational Transformation, Culture and Communication, Manel Jiménez.

UPF and UPF-BSM are commemorating the bicentenary of the birth of Dostoyevsky with the launch of White Nights, co-published with Angle Editorial

Published for the first time with Angle Editorial, current edition offers the original text in Cyrillic alphabet, and the translation from Russian into Catalan by Miquel Cabal Guarro, associate professor of the UPF Department of Translation and Language Science. Pablo Pareja, Serra Húnter Professor of International Relations and Vice Rector for Faculty and Community Relations, is the author of the prologue, while the epilogue is written by Tamara Djermanovic, a specialist in Slavic literature and associate professor of Aesthetics of the UPF Department of Humanities.

Is Dostoyevsky a contemporary author?

White Nights, written in 1948 after the unexpected success of his first novel, Poor, abandons the tragic universe and the satirical intentionality of his first creations, while exploring another area: teenage love and its vital passion. The tale tells the story of a young couple –lonely, desperate, dreamers– who meet on an unreal night in the streets of St. Petersburg. An experience that leads them to a thought that goes beyond times and generations: is a single happy moment enough for the lifetime of a human being?

We can read Dostoyevsky as if he were a contemporary author: he has the virtue of describing people and situations that we can recognize

"We can read Dostoyevsky as if he were a contemporary author. He has the virtue of describing people and situations that we can still recognize", says the translator. "The best way to approach any book by Dostoyevsky is from a contemporary perspective", Cabal guarantees.

In this regard, the head of UPF-BSM Culture Program and UPF Culture Advisor, Mathilde Brodu, believes that the "construction of this work is modern, it challenges us fully". "The author tells stories embedded in other stories: we go from the most tender feelings to the most complex reflections on human relationships and the difficulties to understand them", she adds.

Five years of classics at UPF-BSM

With White Nights, by Dostoyevsky, the UPF Literary Collection, promoted thanks to the leadership of UPF-BSM, reaches its five volumes. The initiative, which was born in 2017, kicked off with the publication of Bartleby, The Scrivener, by Melville, and continued with Candide ou l'Optimisme, by Voltaire; Il Principe, by Machiavelli; and The Tempest, by Shakespeare.

The collection, after all, opens up a wide range of reflections on the most current issues: new forms of organizations, communication and production; human dignity in an unjust world; conflict resolution and the role of the leader; redemption through work or the artificiality of human nature.

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El Màster en Edició arriba als 25 anys plenament integrat en el sector editorial internacional

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 13:38:10 +0000

Master in Publishing reaches its 25th anniversary fully integrated in the international publishing industry Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/27/2021 - 16:55

Summary

Master in Publishing reaches its 25th anniversary after having promoted more than 50 companies in the book sector and having trained many professionals in the Spanish and Catalan publishing sector, as well as numerous professionals from Europe and around the world. To commemorate its first quarter of a century, the program has organized an institutional event with students, alumni, faculty and book professionals.

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Thu, 10/28/2021 - 12:00

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"We've done something right that I think we can be satisfied with. We are celebrating 25 years of bridging the gap between emerging talent and a city with great capital". This was stated by Javier Aparicio Maydeu, creator and director of Master in Publishing of UPF Barcelona School of Management during the celebration of its 25th anniversary.

The program reaches its first quarter of a century after having promoted more than 50 companies in the book sector and having trained many professionals in the Spanish and Catalan publishing sector, as well as numerous professionals from Europe and around the world.

Master in Publishing reaches its 25th anniversary after having promoted more than 50 companies

To commemorate its anniversary, the master has organized an institutional event hosted by Carlota Torrents, alumni and Deputy Director of the master degree, at UPF-BSM headquarters which has been attended by the Pompeu Fabra University Rector, Oriol Amat, as well as Dolors Oller, writer and book critic and co-director of the program in its first editions; Montse García, program manager; and its creator and director, Javier Aparicio Maydeu. "It was a pioneering program and now it is already a benchmark", celebrated Rector Amat.

"I am one of those who believe that books are fundamental in people's live, in the creation of the imaginary. It makes you capable of living other lives you wouldn't live", reflexted Oller. The event was also attended by students, alumni, faculty and book professionals who have accompanied and supported the Master throughout these 25 years.

The program has trained many professionals in the Spanish and Catalan publishing sector and has a labor market insertion rate of more than 75%

"Everything evolves and the generations of students change. We have had to adapt to new formats and new dynamics in class", Garcia said. Since its launch, the program has closely followed innovation and trends and so it has been reflected in the constant updating of the training program and rotation of leading working professionals.

Master in Publishin is also recognized by main institutions within the sector, such as Gremi d'Editors de Catalunya or CEDRO, and has the endorsement of prestigious international companies such as Grupo Planeta, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, Google, Anagrama, RBA, Canon o Nielsen, among others.

Prestigious Faculty & Partners

"We try to rediscover, share and transfer the emotion of reading that first book", said Torrents, on behalf of faculty. International vocation of the program means that its most distinguished professors include Jorge Herralde, Peter Mayer, André Schiffrin, Liz Calder, Andrew Wylie, Carlo Feltrinelli, Barbara Epler or Antoine Gallimard.

Master has the confidence of CEDRO, which awards distinctions to the best projects of each graduating class, and of Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, which grants the Claudio López de Lamadrid International Scholarships, in tribute to one of the great international references in Spanish-language publishing.

Among its most distinguished professors, Jorge Herralde, Peter Mayer, André Schiffrin, Liz Calder o Antoine Gallimard, are included

After 25 years, Master in Publishing has consolidated its position as a national and international benchmark thanks to the agreements in force with major publishing companies, the link with high-level events such as Guadalajara Book Fair (Mexico) or Frankfurt Book Fair, and the organization of international meetings such as Forum Edita. But, above all, it has also consolidated its position as a benchmark for the professional careers of its students.

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"La turbulencia es un lugar en el que deberíamos empezar a sentirnos cómodos"

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 07:34:08 +0000

"Turbulence is a place where we should start to feel comfortable" Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/02/2021 - 10:24

Summary

Carlos A. Scolari, PhD in Applied Linguistics and Languages of Communication at UPF, presents his latest book, Snack Culture, together with Jorge Carrión and Gabriela Pedranti.

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Tue, 06/22/2021 - 12:00

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The current communication landscape is characterized by a multiplicity of channels through which the message can be transmitted. This situation has led authors to a fierce competition to reach the public's attention and, at the same time, to the birth of a large number of short textual pieces.

"Turbulence is a place where we should start to feel comfortable," said Gabriela Pedranti, professor of the Degree in Advertising and Public Relations at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, during the presentation session of Cultura Snack (La Marca, 2020), the latest book by Carlos A. Scolari, PhD in Applied Linguistics and Languages of Communication at UPF.

Longer does not imply less quality, but brevity is an added value.

Together with the writer and director of the Master in Literary Creation of the UPF Barcelona School of Management, Jorge Carrión, the panelists discussed different concepts related to communication that they have been discovering through cards. "Spoiler", "haiku", "dinosaur" or "transience" have been some of the terms that have appeared and on which the speakers have woven several conclusions such as, for example, that the academy tries to "solidify too much".

Beyond the notable differences between the academic world and the non-professionalized sector, Scolari pointed out that the micro-narrative or the phenomenon of short texts has caused a "boom" in Latin America. Carrión agreed, but regretted that "it has not taken root in traditional culture".

While it is true that longer does not imply less quality (take for example War and Peace, Lev N. Tolstoy's masterpiece), the speakers assured that beyond being fashionable, brevity and capacity for synthesis is always an added value.

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La UPF-BSM recupera part de "La gauche qui rit ", l'exposició de Colita censurada durant el franquisme

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 14:28:23 +0000

UPF-BSM recovers "La gauche qui rit", Colita's exhibition censored during Franco's regime Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 06/13/2021 - 21:45

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Mon, 06/14/2021 - 12:00

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Eugenio Trias (1942-2013), filòsof i professor. Archivo Colita Fotografía.

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"Who is the Gauche Divine" is an exhibition that collects part of Colita's photographs shown at the Aixelà hall in 1971.
Joan Manel Serrat, Maria del Mar Bonet or Jorge Herralde are some of the characters captured through Colita's lenses.
The exhibition, available at UPF-BSM until September, will tour the three campuses of the Pompeu Fabra University

The exhibition "La gauche qui rit" sees the light again thanks to the UPF Barcelona School of Management, which recovers part of Colita's photographs censored during Franco's regime with a new exhibition. "Who is the Gauche Divine?", available at the Balmes 132 building until September, shows part of the images in which Colita portrayed the people who made up the intellectual life of Barcelona during the last years of Franco's dictatorship.

Exclusive interview with Colita, here

"In the 1970s, Barcelona was the color of a dirty pigeon." This is how Colita defines the time and the city where she started in photography and where she has become one of the most emblematic photographers of our times. "It was a port city, sad... but there were small meeting places, like trenches, where we hid a group of anti-Francoists and culture addicts," she explains.

Joan Manuel Serrat, Maria del Mar Bonet, Eugenio Trias, Jorge Herralde or Oscar Tusquets are some of the "divines" captured through Colita's lens. People who "tried to make a living from culture and who, over time, have become famous in their profession".

Who is the Gauche Divine?

"Their photographs show us how they were then, when perhaps they were not even what they have become," reflects the curator of the exhibition and head of the UPF-BSM Culture program, Mathilde Brodu. "She approaches them through a funny look, far from archetypes and staging," she says, and adds, "she shows us their friends, far from the fame that would end up turning them into icons."

The Gauche Divine is a milestone in Spain's recent history of what it meant to resist Franco's regime and censorship.

The concept of Gauche Divine was promoted by the chronicler Joan de Segarra with the aim of bringing together the group of people who made up the intellectual life of Barcelona. "When we saw that the concept was becoming so important, we decided to write down on a napkin who we really were, the Gauche Divine," says Colita. A list from which the exhibition "La gauche qui rit" was born, a term that plays on the name of the processed cheese brand "La vache qui rit".

With censorship, the growth

"We intended to have a party in the Aixelà room with the aim of hanging our friends on the wall and giving them the photographs," admits the photographer. But the exhibition, which was supposed to last two days, ran up against Franco's censorship. "They took the 'gauche' very seriously," says Colita, who, beyond the anecdote, admits that the concept "caught on".

Today, the "Gauche Divine" is a "milestone in the recent history of Spain, an intellectual emblem of what it meant to resist Francoism and censorship, what it meant to create despite repression or to seek outside the established limits the conditions for the work of art," says Manel Jiménez, vice rector of Educational Transformation, Communication and Culture at the UPF.

There will never again occur a phenomenon like that of the Gauche Divine because, I hope, there will not be another dictator to unite the world of culture.

"The Gauche Divine phenomenon has never stopped. I'm 80 years old and am still talking about it," expresses the photographer, who attributes it to the "fun of the protagonists". "What people want is to laugh and share a sense of humor, that's why this group was so successful," she notes.

However, the photographer -who says she is very happy with the explosion of photography thanks to smartphones- affirms that this phenomenon will not happen again, since "there will never again, I hope, be another dictator that unites the world of culture".

"There is little romanticism left in our profession, and those that are left are being killed in some war," he denounces, and regrets that, nowadays, everything related to culture "is complicated." "You have to work hard to get far and still be able to hang your friends on the wall when you're 80 years old," she concludes.

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Free admission in the hall of the UPF Barcelona School of Management (Calle Balmes 132-134)
April-September 2021

Curated by: Mathilde Brodu
Original idea: Francesc Polop
Graphic design: Francesc Polop
Edition and translation: Ruth Pérez Castro
Production: UPF Barcelona School of Management
Collaborators: colitafotografia.com, CRAI Library UPF
Images: Colita Fotografía © Archive

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Amb Colita, la 'Gauche Divine' no s'acaba mai

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 07:34:45 +0000

With Colita, the 'Gauche Divine' never ends Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/11/2021 - 15:10

Summary

The UPF Barcelona School of Management recovers the exhibition "La Gauche qui rit", which includes Colita's photographs of the characters of the intellectual life of Barcelona in the 70s that were censored.

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Tue, 06/15/2021 - 12:00

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It all started with a suitcase. More than a suitcase, it was a sort of big box with rubber wheels, a wooden box with a label stuck on one of the sides that said "COLITA".

That day we were consulting our friend and graphic designer Francesc Polop about an exhibition project based on material from students of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) about the Bauhaus school. We discussed different possibilities, budgets and graphic solutions while our gaze traveled through Francesc's studio, full of photos, small sculptures and fireproof shelves. We remember perfectly well when we asked him: "And what is this Colita? His answer was very straightforward: "an exhibition!

Colita introduces us to her friends, who were oblivious to the fame that would eventually make them icons of a generation

And so, preparing the exhibition "Bauhaus, the melting pot of modernity" (currently at the Poblenou Campus and, very soon, at the Ciutadella Campus), we decided to turn it into a transportable exhibition in a kind of wooden suitcase, already thinking about the next one -transportable, too, in her private suitcase-, full of Colita's photos.

Origin of the exhibition

The exhibition "Who is the Gauche Divine?" began in the heart of another. While we were talking about Mies van der Rohe, portraits of Eugenio Trias, Juan Marsé, Joan Manel Serrat and many other inescapable figures of the social, political, intellectual, artistic life -in short, everything known as cultural life- of the Barcelona of the 1970s appeared.

Joan de Sagarra, inspired by the old Parisian environments of the Quartier Latin, located on the "rive gauche" of the Seine, used the expression "Gauche Divine" for the first time to refer to these people. At that time, one of the trendiest places in Barcelona was Bocaccio, a nightclub that soon became a meeting point for all kinds of figures.

In 1917, the Salle Aixelà organized the original exhibition under the ironic name "La Gauche qui rit" (The laughing left), playing with provocation. The exhibition opened, but the next day it was closed by the police. The use of the word "gauche" (left) and the characters on display seemed too subversive in the aftermath of Franco's regime.

Portrait of an era

The exhibition presented about 70 portraits, all of them of friends and acquaintances. Colita gives in them testimony of the trajectory of the most well-known personalities of those times in the Barcelona environment. His photographs show us now how they were then, when they were not even what they have become. She brings them closer to us through an amusing look, far from archetypes and staging. Colita introduces us to his friends, oblivious to the fame that would eventually turn them into icons.

La Gauche Divine is a milestone in the recent Spanish history of resistance to Franco's regime and censorship

Today, the "Gauche Divine" is a reference, a milestone in recent Spanish history, an intellectual emblem of what it meant to resist Franco's regime, censorship, what it meant to create in spite of repression or to search outside the established limits for the conditions for the work of art.

Bocaccio also represented - it is almost needless to say - the fun and nonconformism of a certain social class, precisely at a time when this concept of class was at the center of political discourses inspired by Marxism. It is true that the "Gauche Divine" evokes a way of being, left-wing, without renouncing what we could call a certain pretentiousness, even if this is a pretentiousness with little money!

Lessons from Colita

The lesson from Colita, photographer and testimony of her friends' trajectory, has values that any school or educational community can easily appropriate: work, work and work; try to earn enough money to continue doing what you believe in; do not give in to threats or pressures; have fun learning; adapt to circumstances, technologies, working conditions; do not be prejudiced.

The lessons from Colita, his endearing energy or his bad temper give us value clues: to form a personality and to love your friends.

Our small sample, an exceptional testimony of an era, is a great sample of art, of humanity. One of the most recognized photographers in the world offering us the possibility to laugh at ourselves, to look beyond the clichés we associate with celebrities. We find in the subtle and unmistakable atmosphere of her portraits an innocent insolence at the service of the depth of emotions.

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The "Gauche Divine" comes to university

The exhibition was created from a wooden suitcase with wheels, thanks to which it will be able to circulate and visit all the campuses of the university. The tour starts at UPF-BSM and will travel through Campus Mar, Campus Poblenou and Campus Ciutadella. With it, the "Gauche Divine" gang never ends!

In the entrance hall of the UPF Barcelona School of Management you will find, in the last panel, a QR code to discover other photographs in digital format.

You can visit part of the virtual exhibition, here

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Las vanguardias liberaron a los artistas de cuatro siglos con el mismo arte

Anonymous — Wed, 12 May 2021 16:21:40 +0000

The avant-garde freed the artists of four centuries with the same art Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/14/2021 - 11:51

Summary

Estela Ocampo, professor of Art Theory at the UPF, reviews the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century and explains how they transformed the artistic paradigm known to date: naturalism. Cubism, expressionism or futurism, among others, break with the schemes and influence current contemporary art.

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Wed, 05/12/2021 - 12:00

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The avant-garde is a break with the past, with more than four centuries of seeing the same art. "The different avant-garde movements, which pose many different questions, coincide in the need to establish a free artistic paradigm," said Estela Ocampo, PhD in Philosophy and Arts and professor of Art Theory at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, during the webinar "The radical gesture: art and avant-garde of the 20th century".

Cubism, Expressionism, Futurism, Dadaism and Surrealism are some of the movements Ocampo has explored in order to explain the avant-garde movements of the first decades of the 20th century which, despite their differences, "wanted to break with the paradigm of naturalistic mimicry"."Antinaturalism, which expresses itself in many ways, seeks to completely replace the relationship of art with nature with a totally different one in which art is autonomous," the professor reasoned.

New forms and references

For four centuries, artists were subject to certain rules such as verisimilitude in representation or chiaroscuro, among others, and followed certain precepts, for example, regarding the human body. However, although the seventeenth-century academies "freed" artists from the influence of the guilds, the strict precepts soon "straitjacketed" the creators.

"The interest in primitive art is practically immediate," said Ocampo, who exemplified this trend with Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. A painting that, however, produced a lot of rejection. Why? "Because of the use of African masks as a face," said the professor.

The appreciation for the primitive is not only registered in Picasso and Cubism, but also in other movements that coincide with the need to find a way out of naturalism.

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Estela Ocampo, profesora de Teoría del Arte en la UPF

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The rebelliousness of futurism

"Futurism is perhaps one of the movements with the most radical approach," recalled Ocampo who, in turn, admitted that beyond its founding manifesto (1909) published in Le Figaro, "the basic approach was shared with the others movements". "Futurism, in any case, responds to a "certain pre-war environment in Europe" and to a "very critical" attitude of the artists. "It speaks of an aggressive movement as opposed to the immobility and reverie that characterized previous periods of European art," Ocampo claimed.

La máquina, la agresividad y la glorificación de la guerra eran algunos de los aspectos más ensalzados por el movimiento que, en sus inicios, tuvo una vertiente anarquista. The machine, aggressiveness and the glorification of war were some of the aspects most praised by the movement which, in its beginnings, had an anarchist side."The colored tubes, for us, were like sticks of dynamite," said Maurice Denis, one of the key figures of expressionism.

Political and pictorial revolution

Beyond the warmongering rhetoric, in the twenties of the 20th century another substantial avant-garde form for contemporary art was born : abstraction. Although it was not exclusively a product of the Russian avant-garde, it has one of its greatest exponents inKazimir Malevich. "It is the link between the political avant-garde and the pictorial avant-garde," said Ocampo, who considered it "a privileged case".

"Russia was extraordinarily creative in artistic terms, but also in economic, political and social terms," said the professor of Art Theory at the UPF. In this sense, Ocampo insisted on the first adhesion of artists like Wassily Kandinsky or Malevich to the Russian revolution. Something that, unfortunately, "did not end up being a good relationship".

While Kandinsky left the USSR in 1919, preceded by Marc Chagall, who did so in 1922, Malevich became a referent of the movement and took anti-naturalism to its extreme with the work White on White, after which he stopped painting.

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"«El mundo de ayer» es la conversión del llanto en escritura"

Anonymous — Fri, 07 May 2021 10:08:40 +0000

"«The World of Yesterday» is the conversion of crying into writing" Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/07/2021 - 12:22

Summary

Literary translator Adan Kovacsics offers a session to understand the world that Stefan Zweig portrayed in his famous work " The World of Yesterday" and to understand the feelings of the European population at the beginning of the 20th century.

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Wed, 05/05/2021 - 12:00

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There are two elements in "The World of Yesterday" that make it particular and timeless. On the one hand, the despair and pain contained by the exile and the disappearance of a world. On the other hand, its conversion of crying into writing. This was the opinion of literary translator Adan Kovacsics, lecturer at the webinar "The World of Yesterday: Stefan Zweig and Europe in the early 20th century" and expert on the works of Austrian and Hungarian authors such as Stefan Zweig, Karl Kraus and Arthur Schnitzler, among others.

"The World of Yesterday: Memoirs of an European" (1941) is Zweig's masterpiece, which he wrote in "times of hardship and persecution"."This is an autobiographical book in which, however, Zweig's private life hardly appears," said Kovacsics, who described the book as a "gallery of personalities". "There is not a page in which musicians, artists or intellectuals that Zweig knew do not appear," he admitted.

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Adan Kovacsics, traductor literario y experto en Zweig

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Although the reading is a "permanent exaltation of art", the real protagonist is rather a period. "He, so adept at writing biographies, seems to have wanted to write the biography of a certain period in Europe," the translator said, referring to the interwar period.

What was the world yesterday?

When Zweig talks about the world of yesterday, he is talking about the world before the First World War."What defined that era was cosmopolitanism and the defense of the supranational, something that also characterized his family," explained Kovacsics, who insisted on the author's "permanent effort to recall and justify a life."

So expert in biographies, he seems to have wanted to write the biography of a certain period in Europe

But, with 2021 glasses, Kovacsics has insisted that Zweig's vision responds to a "mythical Habsburg pattern" with a tendency to "sweeten and idealize" the pre-Great War period.The political scientist Hannah Arendt disagreed with this and described " The World of Yesterday" as "anything but the world of yesterday".

Be that as it may, and despite the criticism, the Zweig expert has argued that what the world of yesterday rescues is the "creative effervescence" of the time before the war and the characters such as Sigmund Freud or Franz Kafka who "reflected the fragile, brittle and shaky basis of that world of yesterday".

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"El Qujiote es un loco a ratos lleno de lúcidos intervalos"

Anonymous — Wed, 05 May 2021 16:45:24 +0000

"Don Quixote is a lunatic at times full of lucid intervals" Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/05/2021 - 19:28

Summary

Historian Gonzalo Pontón explains the main characteristics of the most important work of Spanish literature, Don Quixote, and interprets the multiple readings of the work: from a simple novel of chivalry to a humorous reading to a social critique.

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Wed, 04/28/2021 - 12:00

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How would life be lived according to the books? The historian Gonzalo Pontón has proposed this question as one of the possible lines of interpretation of "Don Quixote". "Cervantes builds a novel full of allusions to a literary universe, with characters obsessed with reading and living their own existence in conflict between reality and what literary molds allow them to experience," he said.

These were the first thoughts of the webinar "Don Quixote: the obsession with literature", organized by the Culture Program of the UPF Barcelona School of Management in collaboration with the Institut d'Humanitats. "Don Quixote is a comic book, which makes you laugh, but which maintains a constant and tenacious presence of literature," said Pontón, who recalled that, above all, it represents "the chivalrous novel par excellence".

According to the historian, in the 16th century chivalric literature "constitutes a literary genre of its own". With it everyone can live historical, warlike and amorous adventures, he said, and added: "that is why I am not surprised that these books are the ones that Hidalgo, impoverished, burns at the stake", since, deprived of all his powers, "he can only live the idealized adventure through reading".

Between real and imaginary

In this line between reality and the literary, between the fictitious and the invented, the protagonist of the novel also walks. But is Don Quixote a "lunatic" or is there something else behind him? In Pontón's words, "Don Quixote is a madman full of lucid intervals". However, the "maturity" of his character comes through the long conversations with Sancho, his squire.

Precisely on the originality of the second part of the work, a shadow of doubt is dispelled.Is Cervantes its author? In 1614 the supposed continuation of the first volume was published, but it did not come from the original author, but from Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda, who, as Pontón has noted, "was "somewhat maliciously dismissive of the true author".

The novel includes as many interpretations as fashions, trends and years separate us from its creation.

Gonzalo Pontón, historian

Faced with a possible bad reaction, Cervantes responded "admirably" and included this version in his second part. "It is a more articulated and meditated work, with greater cohesion," said the historian who, however, admitted that "all the discoveries are found in the first one".

Despite the fact that after "Don Quixote" no more chivalric novels were printed, the work has survived more than four centuries and remains the greatest work of Spanish literature."The novel includes as many interpretations as fashions, trends and years separate us from its creation," commented Pontón, who concluded: with Don Quixote, "the possibility of the marvelous always remains open".

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“Shakespeare va ser real, però el 90% del que s'explica a les seves biografies és fictici"

Anonymous — Mon, 03 May 2021 15:11:40 +0000

“Shakespeare was real, but 90% of what his biographies tell is fictional” Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/03/2021 - 17:19

Summary

¿Who was William Shakespeare? The critic, editor and translator Andreu Jaume offers the webinar "And Shakespeare invented humans", in which he analyzes the life and literary trajectory of the famous author, from his first comedies to his grand finale with The Tempest.

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Wed, 04/21/2021 - 12:00

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"Let's start with a clarification: Shakespeare existed, he was real". It is with this forcefulness that the publisher and translator Andreu Jaume has dispelled all kinds of doubts about the rumors surrounding the life and work of the most important author of all time.

This was certified during the webinar "And Shakespeare invented humans", organized by the Culture Program of the UPF Barcelona School of Management as part of the activities of Sant Jordi and in collaboration with the Institut d'Humanitats. "There are many biographies about Shakespeare, but most of them are based 10% on facts and 90% on made-up stories", regretted Jaume, who recommended the text by Bill Bryson. "Everything you can know about Shakespeare was written by him", he said.

"One of the biggest grievances Shakespeare has suffered is that his existence and his work has been doubted", insisted Jaume, who led a session through Shakespeare's Elizabethan England and the intricacies of his personal life that undoubtedly affected his creations.

From humor to "dark comedy"

"Shakespeare had to be a very funny guy: even in the darkest tragedies there is always a touch of humor", noted the critic and publisher, responsible for the edition of Shakespeare's complete works in Spanish and the translation into Spanish of King Lear (Penguin Clásicos, 2016).

Although Shakespeare "always had an innate comic intuition", he found it difficult to adapt to the drama that prevailed during the reign of Elizabeth I and that his contemporary, colleague and competitor, Christopher Marlowe, mastered so well.

"His life, Marlowe's, was passionate, having to deal endlessly with the rejection of homosexuality; Shakespeare's, on the other hand, was more ordinary". The famous playwright married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, Judith and Hamlet. It was precisely the death of the only boy, Hamnet, when he was only eleven years old, that transformed his work.

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La comunidad UPF edita este año la edición bilingüe de 'The Tempest', la última obra de Shakespeare

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Gradually, Shakespeare took up tragic dialogue in his plays through historical dramas. In the 16th century, "England was a nation that was creating its mythology for the first time, and there Shakespeare inserted himself in a masterful way", said Jaume. A path that led him to write his great tragedy: Hamlet.

"The playwright's tone darkens from the age of 40 onwards", said the publisher, who added: "He had lost a son, he felt the bite of the passing of time and that is very noticeable". From that moment on, Shakespeare stopped writing comedies or wrote what are known as "dark comedies".

After the glory, farewell

Finally, Shakespeare conquered the tragic dialectic he so craved and had so envied in Marlowe, who died under strange circumstances after being accused of being a government spy.

"King Lear is the best play of Shakespeare and of the entire Elizabethan period", said Jaume. However, after the death of Elizabeth I, the last monarch of Tudor dynasty, Shakespeare no longer wrote either tragedies or comedies.

His last solo work, The Tempest, will act as his farewell. "In it he incorporates all the elements researched during his dramaturgy, turning them into a myth", said the critic and publisher, who pointed out that the play works as a "reconciliation". To exemplify this, Jaume quoted one of the most famous phrase of the work: "We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep".

Whatever the case may be, Shakespeare was real and his work still enlightens us in an era, ours, of "overdimensioned ego apotheosis in which everything is biography and publicity", said the editor, who concluded: "Well thought out, not knowing much about Shakespeare is a relief".

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Inaugurada la prestatgeria virtual de la UPF-BSM

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 07:12:15 +0000

The virtual bookshelf of UPF-BSM is now open Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/28/2021 - 12:02

Summary

On April 23, the virtual bookshelf was launched with the UPF-BSM literary production of the last five years: from literary creation to translation and publishing in multiple disciplines. We encourage you to consult it and to continue sending us your projects so that we can include them.

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Wed, 04/28/2021 - 12:00

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See the virtual bookshelf

The Culture Program of the UPF Barcelona School of Management launched on April 23 the virtual bookshelf, an online platform that includes all the literary production written and translated in the last five years by the UPF-BSM community: from faculty to alumni, students or management staff.

The School is the basis for multiple projects related to the world of books in different disciplines: communication, finance, literature, management... You can find all of them in the virtual bookshelf, which will be updated regularly with new productions.

This is a project under construction with open participation to all members of the community. If you want to include your publications, you can send them to us.

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