Aproximació a l'altre / An approach to the other

Book excerpt: The different contributions included in this volume deal with aspects of biographical writing and other similar genres (semblances, portraits, etc.). These articles analyze theoretical and generic questions as well as some of the most relevant examples of the genre – with a focus on those written in Catalan. In addition, some of the articles focus on the relationship between biography and national images (nation-building) from a sociocultural standpoint. The Research Group on Contemporary Literature from the Universitat d’Alacant has gathered contributions from several specialists in numerous fields and has selected a group of relevant works for analysis. In addition to studies on authors such as André Maurois and Lytton Strachey, contributions deal with figures such as Josep Pla, Domènec Guansé, Josep Maria Espinàs and Agustí Pons. Finally, some contributions pay attention to the biographical genre in the audiovisual arts. The volume contains contributions in Spanish, English, and Catalan.