The declaration by the Generalitat Valenciana of 2022 as the Year of Fuster has resulted in the Encontres a Beniarbeig dedicating this year’s programme to the works and the person of Joan Fuster (Sueca, 1922-1992).
Through the four sessions more has been learned about one of the most relevant Valencian intellectuals of the 20th century. He has been key to understanding the current País Valenciano and he has left behind his thoughts in thousands of press articles and essays such as Nosaltres els valencians (1962), Diccionari per a ociosos (1964) or Combustible per a falles (1967).
From the organising committee, headed by the Councillor for Culture, Sara Gil Peretó, the story was told over four conferences given by people who are each well known in their own field. The first session was led by the journalist and writer Francesc Bayarri who, on 20th January, presented Matar Joan Fuster, a conference based on the homonymous book, fruit of the research work of Bayarri on the terrorist attack of which Joan Fuster was a victim.
The second session was on 3rd February, when the historian Antoni Furió presented a conference called “El País Valencià desde la Correspondència de Joan Fuster”, in which he did an in-depth study of the social and cultural situation through the more than 20,000 letters kept in the Joan Fuster archives.
The most recent session on 24th February was the turn of the journalist Empar Marco, who for many years has been a correspondent on TV3 in the Pais Valencià and has also been the first director of À Punt Mèdia. With “Fuster, journalist and columnist”, Marco analysed Fuster’s full dedication as a columnist, not only from the point of view of the diffusion of his ideas but also the economic aspect.
The last conference will be 1st April at 7.30pm when the anthropologist and writer Joan F. Mira will give a conference entitled “Allò que representa Fuster”.
