Clara Janés

Spanish poet and translator

Clara Janés Nadal, born in Barcelona (6 November 1940), is a Spanish writer of several literary genres. She is recognised as a poet and is distinguished as a translator of different central European and eastern languages. Since 2015, she has occupied a seat in the Real Academia Española [1], becoming the tenth woman elected as a member of the RAE.

Clara Janés was born in Barcelona on 6 November 1940, the daughter of Ester Nadal and the famous editor and poet Josep Janés (l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 1913 – Monós, Alto Penedés, 1959). She was brought up in Pedralbes, on the outskirts of Barcelona. Her love for literature, especially poetry, started at an early age after reading several verses of Saint Teresa of Jesus. In 1957, she began her degree in philosophy at the University of Barcelona, where Professor Jose Manuel Blecua taught her the literature of San Juan de la Cruz and Francisco de Quevedo, among other traditional literature poets. This has been the fundamental influence of her interest in traditional poetry. After the death of her father in 1960, she moved to Pamplona, where she finished her university degree. Clara Janés completed her studies at the University of Paris [2], where she studied Maîtrise in comparative literature. At the age of 23, the author Gerardo Diego [3], who was her mother's friend, read one of her poems. The author also enabled her to publish her first book, Las estrellas vencidas, in 1964. That same year, she decided to move to Madrid, where she currently resides. Clara Janés confesses that her world changed when she read Night with Hamlet, by the Czech author Vladimír Holan. The author later agreed to meet her in Prague, where she decided to learn Czech and began to translate it. Since 1983, Clara Janés has participated in national and international literary events. Her poetry has been translated into twenty languages. She directs the Collection Poesía del Oriente y del Mediterráneo, in which she has published works of poets such as Yunus Emre, Sohrab Sepehri, Adonis, Halas, Vladimir Holan, Nezval, Orten, Jaroslav Seifert, Ilhan Berk, Rumi, Odysseas Elytis, António Ramos Rosa, Wang Wei, Nazim Hikmet, Nichita Stănescu, Du Fu, Johannes Bobrowski, Hafez of Shiraz, Halladch Mansur Mahmud Darwish, Sujata Bhatt, Forugh Farrokhzad, Ahmad Shamloo, Abbas Kiarostami, Al Mutanabbi, Sappho, and Rilke. Since 7 May 2015, she has occupied the U seat in the Royal Spanish Academy, which was left vacant after the death of Eduardo García de Enterria (16 September 2013). In 2019, she was a contributor to A New Divan: A Lyrical Dialogue Between East and West (Gingko Library, 2019). Clara Janés is the tenth woman to be elected as a member of the RAE.

The first stage of her literary career begins with the book Las estrellas vencidas. Followed by Límite humano (1974), En busca de Cordelia and poemas romanos (1975), Antología personal 1959–1979 (1979) and Libro de alienaciones (1980) In this period, Clara Janés represents herself as a traditional feminine figure in search for the origin of femininity. [12] Moreover, she also incorporates existential elements such as anxiety, dissatisfaction, depression, loneliness, as well as relationships and their difficulties. In search of answers to her questions about life, the poet defines a transition between the first and second stage of her career, with her collection of poems, Vivir (1983). The poems found in this collection address the serenity of spirit. With the book Eros (1981) begins her second literature stage. This period is characterised by feminism, sensuality, eroticism and love. The entire theme of love achieves its peak in one of her following poetry books, Creciente fértil (1989).

Isla del suicidio. Poetry. Las estrellas vencidas, 1964. Poetry. La noche de Abel Micheli,1965. Novel. Desintegración, 1969. Novel. La vida callada de Federico Mompou, 1972. Biography. Tentativa de encuentro y tentativa de olvido, 1972. Límite humano, 1973. Poetry. Aprender a envejecer, 1973. Essay. Poemas Rumanos, 1973. Poetry. En busca de Cordelia y Poemas rumanos, 1975. Poetry. Cartas a Adriana, 1976. Novel. Antología personal (1959–1979), 1979. Poetry. Libro de alienaciones, 1980. Poetry. Sendas de Rumanía, 1981. Novel. Eros, 1981. Poetry. Pureza canelo, 1981. Biography. Tentativa de olvido, 1982. Tales. Roig, Montserrat. Before the civil war, 1982. Tales. Pessarrodona, Marta. La búsqueda de Elizabeth, 1982. Tales. Vivir, 1983. Poetry. Fósiles, 1985. Poetry. Kampa : poesía, música y voz, 1986. Poetry. Las primeras poetisas en lengua castellana, 1986. Poetry. Federico Mompou : vida, textos y documentos, 1987. Essay. Lapidario, 1988. Poetry. Creciente fértil, 1989. Poetry. Los caballos del sueño, 1989. Novel. Jardín y laberinto, 1990. Biography. Esbozos, 1990. Poetry. El hombre de Adén, 1991. Novel. Emblemas, 1991. Poetry. Espejismos, 1991. Novel. Las palabras de la tribu: escritura y habla, 1993. Essay. Rosas de fuego, 1996. Poetry. Cirlot, el no mundo y la poesía imaginal, 1996. Essay. Diván del ópalo de fuego, 1996. Poetry. Espejos de agua, 1997. Tales. El persa. Cuento. Tales. "El libro de los pájaros" 1999. Poetry
Arcángel de sombra, 2000. Poetry
Los secretos del bosque, Visor, Madrid, 2002 (Premio J. Gil de Biedma, 2002). "Paralajes", Barcelona, Tusquets, 2002. Poetry. "Vilanos", Madrid, AdamaRamada, 2004. Poetry. "Fractales", Valencia, Pre Textos, 2005. Poetry. "Huellas sobre una corteza", Valladolid, Fundación Jorge Guillén, 2005. Poetry. "Los números oscuros" Siruela, 2006. Poetry. "La indetenible quietud", Siruela, 2008. Poetry. "Variables ocultas", 2010. Poetry. "De la realidad y la poesía: Tres conversaciones y un poema", 2010. Ensayo y poesía. "Orbes del sueño" Vaso Roto, 2013. Poetry. "Según la costumbre de las olas" 2013. Poetry. "Movimientos insomnes". 2014. "Poética y Poesía". 2014.