Joan Alcover i Maspons
| Joan Alcover | |
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| Born | Joan Alcover i Maspons 3 May 1854 Palma de Mallorca, Spain |
| Died | 25 February 1926 (aged 71) Palma de Mallorca, Spain |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician, poet |
| Language | Catalan and Spanish |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Notable works | La Balanguera (Mallorca Hymn) |
| Notable awards | Floral Games |
| Spouse | Rosa Pujol Guarch Maria del Haro Rosselló |
| Children | Pere, Teresa, Gaietà Maria, Pau |
Joan Alcover i Maspons (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒuˈan əɫkoˈve]) (1854–1926) was a Spanish Balearic writer, poet, essayist and politician.
The son of an influential family, he studied the Baccalaureate at the Balearic Institute before reading for a degree in Law in Barcelona. Once he became a lawyer (1878), he returned to Majorca to take up varying posts in the Island's judiciary. Simultaneously, he was a militant of the liberal party of his friend Antoni Maura when he commenced a political career that would culminate in his appointment as a representative of the 'Corts' [Courts] (1893). After a short stay in Madrid, he returned home to the Balearic Islands and abandoned all political activities.
From an early age he had combined his studies and, later on, his professional occupation, with his interest in writing. At the age of eighteen he had published his poems in both Catalan and Spanish in magazines like 'El Isleño', 'Museo Balear' or 'Revista Balear'. However, his literary interest would become stronger during the time spent in Barcelona, where he had come into contact with the literary activities of the 'Renaixença' cultural movement (magazines, literary contests, conferences, readings…). At 23 he would win an extraordinary prize at the Barcelona 'Jocs Florals' [Floral Games].
Joan Alcover was to gain recognition as a poet, and he would soon become the kind of person who, extremely fond of literature, would use his literary ability in order to gain social prestige. Thus, his house would become the base for reputed talks with the prestigious Majorcan intellectuals. Little by little he ceased to write in Catalan, preferring to write his poetry in Spanish. His first poetry books 'Poesías' [Poetries] (1887), 'Nuevas poesías' [New poetries] (1892), 'Poemas y armonías' [Poetries and harmonies] (1894) and 'Meteoros. Poemas, apólogos y cuentos' [Meteors. Poems, apologues and stories] (1901), reflect this tendency to be monolingual, even though he would include some poems in Catalan in the first two titles. However, the other two titles would be entirely written in Spanish. This is poetry inspired by the Romantic, which imitates other poets', such as Bécquer and Campoamor, having intense expression of the poetical voice, yet straining to avoid rhetorical excesses and pomposity. His books were well received by critics who afforded him a title in circles which supported the official culture.
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