Isabel-Clara Simó i Monllor (4 April 1943 – 13 January 2020) was a Spanish journalist and writer.
She is considered one of the most important writers in the
Catalan language
Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as '' Valencian'' ( autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eas ...
.
Simó was awarded several prizes, including the
Premi Sant Jordi in 1993. As a journalist, she was the director of
Canigó
The Canigó ( ca, Canigó, french: Canigou ; la, mons Canigosus or Canigonis) is a mountain located in the Pyrenees of southern France.
The Canigó is located less than from the sea and has an elevation of . Due to its sharp flanks and its dra ...
magazine and had a daily column in the newspaper
Avui
''Avui'' (, meaning "Today" in English) was a Catalan daily newspaper, based in Barcelona, in Catalonia. It was one of the city's newest papers, having been founded in 1976. The editorial line was Catalan nationalist.
History and profile
''Avui ...
. She was a delegate of the Culture Department of the
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label=Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...
.
Biography
Isabel-Clara Simó was BSc+MSc on
Philosophy for the
Universitat de València
The University of Valencia ( ca-valencia, Universitat de València ; also known as UV) is a public research university located in the city of Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest surviving universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Vale ...
and Journalism, and PhD on Romance Philology.
She taught at
Bunyol and afterwards at the
IES Ramon Muntaner The initialism IES may refer to:
Government organizations
* Indian Economic Service
* Indian Education Service, in British India
* Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the European Commission
* Institute of Education Sciences of the U. ...
of
Figueres
Figueres (, ; , es, Figueras, ) is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.
The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museu ...
, a town where her kids were born, and at the IES Sant Josep de Calasanç of Barcelona. She turned to journalism in 1972 as a director of the weekly ''Canigó'' and collaborated on a regular basis in several media. She created in her tales and novels a number of complex characters who have conflictive relationships, such as ''La Nati'' (1991), ''Raquel'' (1992), those from ''Històries perverses'' (1992) or those from ''T'imagines la vida sense ell?'' (2000). Some works as ''
Júlia'' (1983) or ''
D'Alcoi a Nova York'' (1987) was set on
Alcoi
Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 ...
, her birthplace.
She was awarded the
Sant Jordi prize in 1993, for ''La salvatge''. She was deputy of Books for the Departament de Cultura of the
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label=Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...
. In 1999 she received the
Creu de Sant Jordi
The Creu de Sant Jordi (, in English 'St George's Cross') is one of the highest civil distinctions awarded in Catalonia (Spain), surpassed only in protocol by the Gold Medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It was established by the Generalit ...
, for her career. The collection ''Dones'' (1997) was adapted to the cinema in 2000. She also published ''L'home que volava en el trapezi'' (2002) and her collection of articles at the journal ''
Avui
''Avui'' (, meaning "Today" in English) was a Catalan daily newspaper, based in Barcelona, in Catalonia. It was one of the city's newest papers, having been founded in 1976. The editorial line was Catalan nationalist.
History and profile
''Avui ...
'', titled ''En legítima defensa''. She also had a great success, both from critics and audience, for her theatre piece ''Còmplices'', taken to the scenarios by Pep Cortès.

In 1993 she won the ''
Premi Crítica Serra d'Or de narració'' for ''Històries perverses''. In 2001 she received the
Andròmina prize for her work ''Hum... Rita!: L'home que ensumava dones'', and in 2004 the Crítica dels Escriptors Valencians prize for her essay ''En legítima defensa''. In 2007, she won the ''
Premi de Novel·la Ciutat d'Alzira
''Premi'' ( bn, প্রেমী, translated as "Lover") is a Bengali movie released in 2004. Directed by Rabi Kinagi, the movie featured Jeet, Jisshu Sengupta and Chandana Sharma. This was Chandana Sharma's debut movie
This movie is also ...
'' with ''
El meu germà Pol
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...
''.
As a journalist, she was director of the weekly ''
Canigó
The Canigó ( ca, Canigó, french: Canigou ; la, mons Canigosus or Canigonis) is a mountain located in the Pyrenees of southern France.
The Canigó is located less than from the sea and has an elevation of . Due to its sharp flanks and its dra ...
'', she wrote a number of articles for the journal ''
Avui
''Avui'' (, meaning "Today" in English) was a Catalan daily newspaper, based in Barcelona, in Catalonia. It was one of the city's newest papers, having been founded in 1976. The editorial line was Catalan nationalist.
History and profile
''Avui ...
'' and nowadays for ''
El Punt Avui
''El Punt'' (, meaning in English "The Point") was a Catalan daily newspaper based in Girona, Catalonia (Spain). The newspaper was renamed in 1990 from the original ''Punt Diari'' ('Daily Point'). It was published between 24 February 1979 and 31 ...
''.
In 2009 she was awarded the
Trajectòria prize at the ''
Setmana del Llibre en Català''. According to the organization, this award recognizes the huge work of the writer and her effort in protecting the Catalan language.
In 2013, she received the Golden Medal of the City council of Alcoi, as well as its
Key to the City
The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
.
In 2017 she won the
Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes.
Selected works
* ''Júlia'' (1983)
* ''D'Alcoi a Nova York'' (1988)
* ''La veïna'' (1990)
* ''La Nati'' (1991)
* ''Raquel'' (1992)
* ''Històries perverses'' (1992)
* ''La Salvatge'' (1994)
* ''Dones'' (1997)
* ''El gust amarg de la cervesa'' (1999)
* ''T'imagines la vida sense ell?'' (2000)
* ''Carta al meu nét. Sobre el nacionalisme'' (2000)
* ''La Nati'' (2001)
* ''Estimats homes (una caricatura)'' (2001)
* ''L'home que volava en el trapezi'' (2002)
* ''En legítima defensa'' (2003)
* ''Angelets'' (2004)
* ''Adeu-Suau'' (2006)
* ''El caníbal'' (2007)
* ''Un Tros de Cel'' (2012)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simo, Isabel Clara
1943 births
2020 deaths
People from Alcoy
Writers from the Valencian Community
Catalan-language writers
Spanish women writers
Spanish women journalists
Women writers from Catalonia
Neurological disease deaths in Spain
Deaths from motor neuron disease