Novelists
Ludovic Massé 1900-1982
Teacher, this child of Conflent, near Olette, distinguished himself by his sensitivity and his anticonformism. He was one of the torchbearers of country and proletarian literature. Author of a great number of books glorifying the countryside of Roussillon - Le Mas des Oubells, Ombres sur les champs... He was a journalist for a while and took part in the creation of the Cri Cérétant.
Claude Simon 1913-2005
Crowned in 1985 with the Nobel Prize for Literature for the whole of his work, Claude Simon lived for a long time in rue de la Cloche d'Or in Perpignan before leaving for Paris. But he had a house in Salses where he liked to recharge his batteries. In his novel L'Acacia, the writer gives long and beautiful descriptions of a city that never names. This city is obviously Perpignan, the city of his childhood.
And poets
Josep-Sebastià Pons 1886-1962
A classic of Catalan literature. A poet from Ille sur Têt and Aspres, he remained faithful to the local language during the period of intense francization. His many collections of poetry, Roses i xipers, Canta perdiu, L'aire i la fulla... and his prose stories have given quality, rigor and recognition to North Catalan literature.
Jordi-Père Cerdà (Antoni-Cayrol) 1920-2011
Poet, playwright, author of stories and prose, he was born in Saillagouse in Cerdagne (as his pseudonym indicates). He is the most awarded North Catalan author: Prix de littérature de la Generalitat (1989), Prix National de Littérature( 1999), Croix de Sant Jordi - the Catalan Legion of Honor (1986) and Prix d'Honneur des Lettres Catalanes (1995).
Antonio Machado 1875 - 1939
A great Spanish poet born in Seville in 1875, he fled the Spanish dictatorship for political reasons. On January 22, 1939, surrounded by his family and a few friends, he left Barcelona and chose Collioure as his place of exile. Welcomed at the Casa Quintana, exhausted and ill, the poet died on February 22, 1939. Having become a symbol of exile, he continued to grow up in the silence of Collioure, where he still lies beneath a modest tomb in the village's old cemetery. His most famous verse remains "El camino se hace andando" (the path is made by walking).
The new generation
Joan-Lluis Luis, with a dozen novels and essays to his credit. Gérard Jacquet and his Petits Dicos d'Acqui, Hélène Legrais and her magnificent novels recounting the 1890s, including Tans bordeuses d'Oranges, Les enfants d'Elisabeth (which will bring tears to your eyes), Le Front dans l'Azur (about the Spanish Civil War)... As well as Patrick Gifreu, Joan Tocabens (Jordi Barre's lyricist)...
