Pep Guardiola pays tribute to Martí i Pol in Munich

The former manager of FC Barcelona and current manager of Bayern Munich, Josep Guardiola, will be introducing the German public to the figure of Miquel Martí i Pol, one of the most important voices of Catalan literature. The poet plays an important part in Guardiola’s life and work and he will be reading some of his poems and talking about what the ‘people’s poet’ means to him. The event, which will take place on 30 June, is organised by the Institut Ramon Llull and the Goethe Institut in association with Literaturhaus München.

The dedication of ‘Llibre de les solituds’ by Miquel Martí i Pol reads ‘For Cristina Serra and Pep Guardiola’. The football manager and the people’s poet make an odd couple, but they have strong ties. And so Guardiola read poems by Martí i Pol to his players when he was manager of FC Barcelona and often sought out the poet to talk about life, the game and the power of the imagination which often made victory possible. They were also united by the language. And so on June 30 he will be paying tribute to Miquel Martí i Pol and to Catalan culture. It will also be a very special night for Guardiola, a great friend of the poet’s.

Guardiola will be talking to the journalist and expert on Catalonia Michael Ebmeyer and reading poems by Miquel Martí i Pol from all the volumes published in German: ‘L’àmbit de tots els àmbits’ / ‘Després de tot’; ‘Estimada Marta’ / ‘Haikús en temps de guerra’; ‘Suite de Parlavà’ / ‘Algú que espera’ / ‘Llibre de les Solituds’ (Edition Delta, translated from the Catalan by Juana and Tobias Burghardt) and ‘La Fàbrica’ (Maro Verlag, translated from the Catalan by Johannes Hösle). The actor Thomas Loibl will read the German translations.

The event will be in Catalan and German with interpretation. As well as Guardiola and Ebmeyer, Reinhard G. Wittman (Literaturhaus), Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, director of the Goethe Institut, and Àlex Susanna, director of the Institut Ramon Llull, will be taking part.

Goethe-Institut

The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of Germany. One of its main fields of work is literature and aids for translation. Over 200 German language authors have been invited by the Goethe Institut in different contexts such as readings, festivals, book fairs and authors in residence in over 50 countries. Every year it promotes the translation of some 250 German books into over 40 languages in the fields of fiction, non-fiction and literature.

Literaturhaus München

Literaturhaus München is a meeting point for writers, publishers, booksellers and journalists, and especially for readers and listeners. Readings by outstanding contemporary writers, together with the debates, seminars and exhibitions about 20th century literature provide a surprising approach to literature. “Literature for all the senses” has been the slogan of the house since 1997.