The experimental poet Ester Xargay dies at the age of 63

Born in Sant Feliu de Guíxols on April 12, 1960, Ester Xargay died at the age of 63 on January 19, 2024. The poet was raised in the French state and returned to Catalonia at the age of eighteen, where she degree in art history and became an emblem of groundbreaking poetry, exploring new frontiers with video-art and performances.

The Secretary of State for Culture, Jordi Martí, has assured that Catalan literature "is in mourning" with the death of Xargay, author of a radical, experimental and playful work.

Institutions such as the Catalan Language Writers' Association, Pen Català, the Ramon Llull Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona have mourned the death of the poet from Girona.

Among his work we find the books of poetry: The buried angels (Cafè Central, 1990); Les flaires del galliner , unfolding poem on collage by Pere Noguera (magazine/plaquette l'Avioneta, Albert Ferrer Editor, November 1993 and republished in the book Trenca-sons ); Behind the fences , with a foreword by Annie Bats and drawings by Humberto Rivas and Andrés Hispano (El Tall Editorial, 2000); Trenca-sons , book in eight parts, with photographs by Gemma Nogueroles, digital images by Eugenio Tisselli and collage by Pere Noguera (Llibres del Segle, 2002); Ainalar , the Eyes of Tiresies 18 (Cafè Central, 2005); Eixida al sostre , poetry by Ester Xargay, images by Vicenç Viaplana, collection la Imatge que Parla (Arola Editors, 2009); Infinitives , la Fosca 30 collection (Lleonard Muntaner, 2017); Disintegrate , Cadaqués poetry award to Rosa Leveroni (Meteora, 2019).

In terms of experimentation, it is necessary to highlight his bond and collaboration with the writer Carles Hac Mor, with whom he formed a creative and transgressive couple. Among other works, they co-wrote the books of poems Un pedrís de mil estones (1992), Epitome infra nu or no: ombres de poemes de Marcel Duchamp (1997), Zooflèxia (the truest bestiary of all) (2007) and Fissura, book 'migpartit' (2008). The duo also delved into the world of fiction, theater and video art.

Beyond the world of art, Xargay also collaborated with media, such as l'Avui, el Temps, Papers d'Art and Reduccions, and received awards, such as the Espais a la Crítica d'Art award and the Cadaqués poetry prize to Rosa Leveroni.