Núria Perpinyà Filella (; born 1961) is a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

novelist, a playwright and an essayist. Senior Lecturer in Theory and Comparative Literature at the university of

Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, a ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Her novels deal with unusual topics and are characterized by their intellectual irony, formal rigor and experimentalism. In her books, she defends the philosophy of

Perspectivism Perspectivism (german: Perspektivismus; also called perspectivalism) is the epistemological principle that perception of and knowledge of something are always bound to the interpretive perspectives of those observing it. While perspectivism reg ...

and reflects on the fact that the phenomena have multiple interpretations. Her creative work is written in

, but most of the essays are published in Spanish or in English.

Biography

Núria Perpinyà Filella was born in Lleida, Spain, May 25, 1961 and lived in this town until she finished her degree in Catalan Studies in 1984. She moved to Cáceres, then to London, Madrid and Barcelona. Despite her changes of residence, she worked as a professor at the University of Lleida. First, she taught

Catalan literature Catalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to literature written in the Catalan language. The focus of this article is not just the literature of Catalonia, but literature written in Catalan from anywhere, so that it includes wri ...

and then

literary theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, mor ...

and comparative literature. In 1986, at the age of 25, she published her first book: an essay about a Catalan realist poet from the 1960s,

Gabriel Ferrater Gabriel Ferrater i Soler (; 20 May 1922 – 27 April 1972) was an author, translator and scholar of linguistics of the sixties who wrote in the Catalan language. His poetical work is one of the most important among the authors of post-war Catalo ...

, written in collaboration with Xavier Macià, under the title ''The poetry of Gabriel Ferrater''. This work won the Catalan Essay Prize Josep Vallverdú. In 1989, Perpinyà received the Extraordinary Prize for her PhD thesis from the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

for research on Ferrater. She became one of his main specialists. In 1998, she published her first novel, '' A Good Mistake'', where was already shown "the complexity and the elaboration that will characterize the rest of her novels”. In A ''

House to Compose A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

'' (2001), Perpinyà developed a new genre halfway between a story and a novel. '' Mistana'' (2005), much more fantastic, was awarded a National Critics Prize. In '' The Privileged'' (2007), she opted, once more, for a renovation of literary genres with a dramatic novel. In the year 2010, she launched her first theatre play, '' The Calligraphers''. After her Alpinist novel '' To the vertigo'' (2013), Perpinya publishes ''And, suddenly, Paradise'' (2018), an experimental novel on the

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

Style

The work of Núria Perpinyà is a mixture of intellectual reflections and

irony Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized int ...

. Her style has been labelled as “a magmatic writing style”, and it has been characterized by “a control of the composition, a linguistic precision and originality of the actions”. In each of her books, Perpinyà has challenged herself with different experiments: ''A Good Mistake'' is a thriller based on readers’ false suppositions. In ''A House to compose'', she explored a new literary genre: a “fragmented novel” which, even though belonging to a Composite Novel or Short story cycle, it provided the novelty of a chain of stories that they turned over into chapters of a novel. This fusion of genres reappeared in ''The Privileged'' where the narrative and the dramatic style cohabited side by side. Regarding her subjects, Perpinyà has dedicated each book to a concrete topic. ''A Good Mistake'' is a love story in the world of science; ''A House to Compose'' recreates the world of music and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

; ''The Privileged'' is about art and museums; ''The Calligraphers'' is about the university; and ''Mistana'' deals with the madness. Her novel, ''To the Vertigo'', the most romantic and pictorial one, is another important twist in her trajectory. She substituted – at least apparently – her intellectual world for the sport. Her novel and her play on the Internet are an online collective writing experiment. These books are written as a

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

sentences.

Novels

The first book of fiction by Perpinyà, ''Un bon error'' (''A Good Mistake'') related the life of a young man who moved to laboratory in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and fell in love with a black scientist. The protagonist, Joan Xammar, must overcome two obstacles: the one of the gender and the one of race. ''A House to Compose'' (2001), is a story about a

Pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

who was looking for a flat. In this novel about music, Perpinyà “dares to weave a multi-faceted plot”, and “while the protagonist passes through different kinds of housing – a garret, a duplex, an attic – (…) there is a kind of a musical whirlwind in her head”. The book had also an unusual structure: chained stories that ended up merging into a novel. The plot was the ''quête'' of the protagonist, Olivia Kesler, who was “a misanthrope of her art and a female

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

”. The novel is a crossword of genres and worlds: music, architecture and literature. ''A House to Compose'' is a harsh but comical critic to the architectonic dictatorship and suggested a romantic opposition between the artist and the society. The composer Olivia Kesler did not find her creative space in a society that was architectonically hostile to her. In the third novel by Perpinyà, ''Mistana'' (National Critics Prize 2005), the realism was abandoned and the author opted for a fantastic style. The book narrated a story about a meteorologist with mental disorders who fell into misfortune when he arrived at a phantasmal town called Mistana with an everlasting

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

, inhabited by eccentric characters. An extreme climatology that evoked her home town, Lleida. The novel was “a tragedy about madness written in crescendo rhythm of delirious verses in prose” that has been labelled as “vertiginous and breathtaking” and as a “hypnotic and radical novel”. As Maria Dasca said, Mistana was “an unbridled fiction, tragic and comic at the same time” with a philosophical fog where “the things lose appearances and a man does not know who he is anymore”. In 2013 ''To the Vertigo'' appeared, a novel about love between mountaineers. The protagonists were obsessive idealists isolated from the society. The plot revolved around loves of a solitary mountain climber, Irena Besikova. The novel suggested two important discussions: the one of passion and

Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. The epistolary style developed until it became an adventure novel that, in the last chapters, adopted an unexpected metaliterary dimension. ''To the Vertigo'' was critically acclaimed. In 2018, Perpinyà publishes the experimental novel ''And, suddenly, Paradise'' on

Internet Addiction Disorder Problematic internet use or pathological internet use is generally defined as problematic, compulsive use of the internet, that results in significant impairment in an individual's function in various life domains over a prolonged period of time ...

. The action takes place in a psychiatric. The work raises a debate about the advantages and disadvantages of the network, as well as discussing other behavioral disorders such as

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

. In 2022, the author enters the

Science Fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

world, with a novel about

Climate Change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, named ''

Diatom A diatom ( Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising se ...

''. The novel can be classified within the Cli-Fi genre. It is an absurdity plot about the sea that warns about the dangers of

Populism Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

and

Demagogy A demagogue (from Greek , a popular leader, a leader of a mob, from , people, populace, the commons + leading, leader) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, e ...

Plays

In 2007, ''The Privileged'' appeared. It is a comical dramatic novel in which the author thought about art, adopting a point of view of the guards in a

Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

. The story narrated a restructuring of an old-fashioned museum into an

Avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

museum, the sceptical attitudes of the guards towards the modern art, and the labour conflicts. The plot passed through vicissitudes of the main character, Mr. Serivà, a genuine, tragic and anti-heroic guard. The irony of the book is addressed to the ignorant audience and the art as a business and political platform. As Ponç Puigdevall said, the novel proofed the effort of the author “to discover new literary territories where the accuracy does not contradict the entertainment”. ''The Calligraphers'' (2010) is a tragicomedy about

Philosophy of Education The philosophy of education is the branch of applied philosophy that investigates the nature of education as well as its aims and problems. It includes the examination of educational theories, the presuppositions present in them, and the arguments ...

in Arts. The plot revolved around the closure of a University Department of Ancient

Calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined ...

and its substitution for a new degree in criminal calligraphic studies. This modernization of the university provoked tensions between the professors and it revealed jealousy and revenges. The play was opened in Lleida, at Escorxador Theatre, December 15, 2010, under the direction of Óscar Sánchez and it was performed by Imma Colomer, Pep Planas, Núria Casado and Ferran Farré. ''The Calligraphers'' is the staging of her essay ''More Than a Machine''. Both books are about

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

. This twinning between genres occurs again in 2018 where the same story about the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

appears in a theatrical version (''The Vice'') and in a novelistic version (''And, suddenly, Paradise'').

Non Fiction: a Humanistic Relativism

Among Perpinyà's academic researches, it is worth to mention the studies on a Catalan poet of the sixties,

, a friend of Gil de Biedma and

Carlos Barral Carlos Barral i Agesta (1928–1989) was a Spanish poet, considered (along with Jaime Gil de Biedma) to be one of the greatest poets of the so-called generation of the 1950s. He helped to establish the Formentor Group and their literary awards t ...

. An atypical intellectual who had an important influence on the following generations similar to

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American collo ...

or W.H. Auden. In her study ''Gabriel Ferrater: Reception and Contradiction'' (1997), Perpinyà analyzed the myth of Ferrater and did a

deconstruction The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essen ...

of the Catalan criticism. A polemic book “dedicated to all the sceptical readers who realize that, in the literary criticism, nothing completely innocent is ever said”. Perpinyà reappeared in 2008 with “a demythologizing essay”. '' The Crypts of Criticism: Twenty Readings of The Odyssey''; this book offered a wide view on different schools of

Literary Theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, mor ...

. Written in “a casual style”, this essay particularly exemplified the theory with examples: twenty different interpretations about the Greek masterpiece. The defense of humanistic

Relativism Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. Ther ...

can also be observed in her novels in which a kaleidoscope of attitudes related to a particular topic often appeared. In 2010, Perpinyà won an international essay prize for 21st-century editorial of Mexico for her work '' More than a Machine''. This

epistemological Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

essay is about knowledge and education that extended from the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

to the present days, and it pleaded for a creative learning against a routine one. In 2014, Perpinya published her essay on

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

: ''Ruins, Nostalgia and Ugliness'' (2014)Ruins, Nostalgia and Ugliness
/ref> which analyzes the Romantic interest in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, from the eighteenth century to the successful series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

''. Also, one of the theses of the book is considered Romantic,

Ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

's pictures as a precedent of

's Ugliness. In 2019, appears her essay on the Catalan

and

Experimental Theatre Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particul ...

, ''The Broken Chair''. The book analyzes the hundred years of Catalan, Russian, European Avant-garde Theatre and

Theatre of the Absurd The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post– World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style o ...

from the beginning of twentieth century to the present. It deals with

scenography Scenography (inclusive of scenic design, lighting design, sound design, costume design) is a practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography is the combination of technological and material ...

, politics and

dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The term first appears in the eponymous work ''Hamburg Dramaturgy'' (1767–69) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Lessing composed th ...

topics. Her book ''Chaos, Virus, Calm'', is a scientist and humanistic study on order and chaos where chaology is compared to artistic, political and social chaos, with particular emphasis on the concepts of

and

post-truth Post-truth is a term that refers to the 21st century widespread documentation of and concern about disputes over public truth claims. The term's academic development refers to the theories and research that explain the historically specific cause ...

and on the collapse of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Bibliography

Novels

*1998: ''A Good Mistake'' (''Un bon error'', Barcelona, Empúries) *2001: ''A House to Compose'' (''Una casa per compondre'', Barcelona, Empúries) *2005: ''Mistana'' (''Mistana'', Barcelona, Proa) *2007: ''The Privileged'' (''Els privilegiats'', Barcelona, Empúries) *2013: ''To the Vertigo'' (''Al vertigen'', Barcelona, Empúries) *2018: ''And, suddenly, Paradise'' (''I, de sobte, el paradís''. Barcelona, Comanegra) *2022: ''Diatom'' (''Diatomea'', Barcelona, La Magrana)

Plays

*2007: ''The Privileged'' (''Els privilegiats'', Barcelona, Empúries) *2011: ''The Calligraphers'' (''Els Cal.lígrafs'', Barcelona, Empúries) *2019: ''The Vice'' (''El vici'', Tarragona, Arola)

Non Fiction

*1986: ''The Poetry of Gabriel Ferrater'' (''La poesia de Gabriel Ferrater'', Barcelona, Edicions 62; with Xavier Macià) *1991: ''The Theory of Bodies, of Gabriel Ferrater'' (''Teoria dels cossos, de Gabriel Ferrater'', Barcelona, Empúries) *1997: ''Gabriel Ferrater: Reception and Contradiction'' (''Gabriel Ferrater: recepció i contradicció'', Barcelona, Empúries) *2008: ''The Crypts of Criticism: Twenty Readings of The Odyssey'' (''Las criptas de la crítica: veinte lecturas de la Odisea'', Madrid, Gredos) *2010: ''More than a Machine'' (''Más que una máquina'', Mexico, Siglo XXI) *2014:
Ruins, Nostalgia and Ugliness. Five Romantic perceptions of the Middle Ages and a spoonful of Game of Thrones and Avant-garde oddity
' (Berlin, Logos Verlag). *2019: ''The Broken Chair: Avant-garde Catalan Theatre'' (''La cadira trencada. Teatre català d'avantguarda'', Tarragona, Arola) *2021: ''Caos, Virus, Calm. The Theory of Chaos applied to Artistic, Social and Political Disorder'' (''Caos, virus, calma. La Teoría del Caos aplicada al desórden artístico, social y político'', Madrid, Páginas de Espuma)

Awards

*1984: Catalan Essay Prize Josep Vallverdú. *2005: National Catalan Critics Prize. *2010: International Essay Prize Editorial Siglo XXI Mexico. *2015: Marguerite Yourcenar Writer's Residence (France). *2019
Art Omi
New York / Writers's Residence. *2020: Malaga Essay Award.

Notes

References

* Abrams, Sam. "Teatre i literatura". ''El Mundo''. 09-06-2011. * Batista, Antoni. “El boom de novelas con música”. ''La Vanguardia''. 23-XI-2001. * Bou, Enric. “Veintiún lecturas de la Odisea”. ''PRL''. New York. October–November 2009. * Casamajó, Gemma. “Els Cal.lígrafs”. ''Time Out'', 30. 19–25 June 2011. * Dasca, Maria. «Mistana / Guia de Lectura». ''Revista de Catalunya'', 210. November 2005. * Galves, Jordi. “Veinte maneras de leer la “Odisea”. ''La Vanguardia. Culturas''. 07-05-2008. * Garzón, Ricard. “El cim des de l'abisme”. ''El País''. 17-X-2013. * González Vaquerizo, Helena. “Nuria Perpinya, Las criptas de la critica. Veinte interpretaciones de la Odisea”. ''Minerva. Revista de Filología Clásica''. Universidad de Valladolid. 2008, 21: 235–238. * Guillamon, Julià. «Vértigo en la niebla». ''La Vanguardia''. 06-07-2005. * Hernández Bustos, Ernesto, “Una casa (no sólo) para componer”, ''FNAC / Clubcultura.com''.01-02-2002. * Jaruchik, Esdres. "Rient-se del mort i del qui et vetlla". ''Benzina'', 20. October 2007. * Not, Anton. "Per escriure bé no hi ha res prohibit". ''La Mañana''. 16-IV-06. * Pagès Jordà, Vicenç. “Amor i culpa a les altures”. ''El Periódico''. 25-IX-2013. * Pla, Xavier. “Els criats avantguardistes”, ''Avui'', 13-IX-2007. * Puigdevall, Ponç. “L’estímul de la dificultat”. ''El País''. 23-06-05. * Salom, Jeroni. “¿Com hem (mal) llegit Gabriel Ferrater?", ''Diario de Mallorca'', 31-X-1997.

External links

Nuria Perpinya website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perpinya, Nuria Spanish dramatists and playwrights Spanish essayists Novelists from Catalonia Women dramatists and playwrights Spanish women essayists 20th-century Spanish women writers 21st-century Spanish women writers