The delivery of the first Joan Margarit International Poetry Prize to the Californian poet Sharon Olds, this Thursday at the Instituto Cervantes in New York, became a final tribute to the Catalan author
who died two years ago, as well as in recognition, and for many a discovery, of the literary career of the humble and moved to tears. After presenting the prize, a book by the artist Cristina Almodóvar, King Felipe VI recalled the words of Margarit, Cervantes and Queen Sofía Poetry Prize winner, when, in 2018, translating Olds’ collection of poems into Spanish Stag’s Leap (The Deer Leap), said that “making these versions has meant, in addition to reading a good book of poems, an important level of learning for my own profession as a poet.” The award, promoted by the Instituto Cervantes and the publishing house La Cama Sol, aims to disseminate the legacy of the Catalan author abroad and celebrate the talent of outstanding contemporary authors.
Thus, like poetry within poetry, with reciprocal echoes of two unique breaths, an act was developed that was attended by the director of the Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero; the economist and writer Javier Santiso, founder of the publishing house La Cama Sol, and Mònica Margarit, daughter of the poet.
