Josep Maria Espinàs, life from a column

self-obituary in free verse
(‘A rhythm of the times’, 2015)

Espinàs closed his ‘Notes d’una vida’ with this autoobituary in free verse:

“L’Espinàs? Yes, a bon noi,
gairebé always friendly.
They are going to donate some literary prizes,
Overtot in a few temps
in which there was little competition.
Els travels a peu? Yes, a necklace
but no one explains what he saw there,
no hi projectava
cap these interesting
about the human species.
Va escriure many articles, això yes,
but of unambitious fears.
And it is certain that I was interested in all that I saw
but did not formulate cap doctrine
on the construction of l’esser humà,
nor so alone incident
in the epigraphy.
The ‘Cant del Barça’ is going to write, it is true,
l’home had traces for fer verses
-poetry is totally something else-
i will be able to recognize it among its merits
que fes cançons sense saber de solfa.
He will know how to be modest -virtut difficult-
as I corresponded,
i mai will be, segons sembla,
enemy of none
I això, with it sabut, it is the signal
of insignificance”.

his last wishes
(‘My office’, 2008)

“That in his committee no more praise than the indispensable ones will be given, if both phrases are well constructed, because in his situation he will not be able to defend himself from ridicule. And that, after the funeral home, people try not to talk about politics, nor about religion, nor about the state of the Catalan language: that they speak of the heat, if it is a good day, or of the pluja, if it is plou. And, above all, that they do not have bad tastes of applauding. The deceased will appreciate that the assistants share their silence”.

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