Josep Piera used his deep voice, his contagious enthusiasm, his vast knowledge and his playful irony in any topic of conversation: when he praised the poetry of his admired Auisiàs March, he discussed the cooking point of paella rice or he recounted his latest discovery on a trip to Morocco or Greece or on a walk through La Drova (Barx), where he settled to live in the mid-seventies.
He was a full-time narrator, a storyteller, a cultural agitator, a poet of the 70s generation who renewed the lyrical landscape and knocked on the doors of freedom and pleasures in every sense. In short, he was a writer with a formidable literary career in the language of his people, Valencian, and a charismatic person who left his mark on those who knew him. This Sunday, his unmistakable voice has faded definitively at the age of 78, as reported by the Gandia City Council.
The multiple recognitions and awards he received are proof of the great relevance of Piera in Catalan literature in the last 50 years: the Ausiàs March, the Carles Riba, the Josep Pla and the Alfons el Magnànim, the Creu de Sant Jordi, the distinction as Favorite Son of Gandia, the Distinció of the Generalitat Valencina in 2021 or the Premi d’Honor de les Lletres Catalans in 2023.
Author of poems such as The smile of the grass, The eyes of nature o the time found, and narrative bookslike El cingle verd, The distant garden, Marrakech seductions o A beautiful baroque corpse, Piera was an all-rounder. He published biographies of Valencian figures such as Ausiàs March, San Francisco de Borja and Teodoro Llorente, developed important work as a translator of both Andalusian Arabic poetry and contemporary Italian poetry, founded literary magazines, and directed the publications of the Tres i Quatre publishing house.
The mayor of Gandia, the poet José Manuel Prieto, of the PSPV-PSOE, has been deeply sad and shocked by the death of Piera and has assured that “an exceptional writer” is lost, as well as “a good man” who leaves an “immeasurable legacy of wisdom and good writing.”
The general secretary of the PSPV and minister of Science, Innovation and Universities and former mayor of Gandia, Diana Morant, has said goodbye to Josep Piera, “a reference of Valencian poetry”: “His voice is already part of our history, of our lives.”
The Popular Party of Gandia has also mourned the death of Piera. “We deeply regret the death of Josep Piera, Favorite Son of our city and one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Valencian literature,” a statement highlights.
