The Modern Novel

Biography

Joaquim Ruyra was born in 1858 in Girona. His father was a lawyer. He studied law at the University of Barcelona but never practised in order to focus on literature. He first started writing in Spanish but then switched to Catalan under the influence of the poet Jacint Verdaguer. Both as a child and adult he spent much time in the seaside town of Blanes and it remained dear to him all his life. He had initially led something of a Bohemian lifestyle but after a breakdown in 1908, he took it to mean he must change his lifestyle and become more religious, which he did. In the summer of 1928, extensive forests of cork oaks owned by his family in the Gavarres massif burned down. They had inspired Marines i boscatges and La Parada. As a result he cut back on writing, though continued to publish in magazines and translated Moliere. During the war, he was stripped of his assets by the CNT (The National Labour Confederation) but later honoured. He wrote stories, poetry, drama, essay and literary criticism. He died in 1939.

Other sites

Joaquim Ruyra
Joaquim Ruyra
Joaquim Ruyra
Joaquim Ruyra’s Route (a guide to places in Blanes associated with Ruyra)
Joaquim Ruyra (in Spanish)
Joaquim Ruyra (in Catalan)
Joaquim Ruyra (in Catalan)
Joaquim Ruyra (in Catalan)
Joaquim Ruyra (in Catalan)