Two intangibles in literary creativity: perspective and style

Friday, September 30
From 12 noon to 2 p.m.
Exhibition halls and workshops
€6

Workshop led by writer Carlos Bassas

Some of the elements involved in the process of literary creation fall into the category of the measurable. Others, however—those that ultimately make a literary text a unique work—do not obey any rules or conform to any (pre)determined mold. These are "vision" and "style," although the two do not always go hand in hand.

Art, and therefore literature, "is reality seen through a temperament" (Zola), and expressed in a unique way through it. No matter what genre one undertakes as a writer, perspective and style mark the difference between one text and another, and as storytellers, we can find some of the most important keys to learning, either to develop or to distinguish both concepts in poetry.

Throughout this short workshop, we will use one of the genres that seems furthest removed from the lyrical, the crime novel, as an example, and we will see how the use of a poetic perspective and style when approaching this type of story can transform this genre into high-quality literature.

This journey will begin with a visit to the Intermedia exhibition, the true catalyst for the narrative journey that the student will undertake.

CARLOS BASSAS DEL REY

Bassas (Barcelona, 1974) works as a freelance writer, a job he combines with teaching and screenwriting.

In 2007, he won the Plácido Award for Best Screenplay in the Noir Genre at the 9th Manresa International Noir Film Festival.

In 2012, he published his first novel, Aki y el misterio de los cerezos (Toro Mítico), and won the Ciudad de Carmona International Crime Novel Award with El honor es una mortaja (Tapa Negra).

In 2015, Siempre pagan los mismos (Alrevés), winner of the Tormo Negro prize, was published, along with a new installment in the Japanese saga Aki, El Misterio de la Gruta Amarilla (Quaterni). In 2016, he published the haiku book Mujyokan (Quaterni), the short novel La puerta Sakurada (Ronin Literario), and Mal trago (Alrevés), the latest novel, to date, in the series starring Inspector Herodoto Corominas.

A year later came El samurái errante (Quaterni) and Justo (Alrevés), winner of the prestigious Hammett Prize (2019) awarded by the Semana Negra de Gijón. In 2019, it was the turn of Soledad (Alrevés). In 2021, Cielos de plomo ( Harper Collins) was published, set in mid-19th century Barcelona, and in May 2022, his latest novel to date, Sinántropos (Alrevés), was published.

As a screenwriter, he is best known for his work on the screenplay for the film Another Day of Life (2018, Raúl de la Fuente and Damian Nemow), a production that has won numerous national and international awards, including a Goya and the Best Animated Film Award at the 31st European Film Awards.