28 November 2003

MADRID – The complete literary works of Salvador Dali, who considered himself “a better writer than a painter,” will be published for the first time to commemorate the centenary of his birth, it emerged Friday.

The first volumes of Dali’s autobiographical texts will be followed by all the works written by the well-known painter and sculptor, who was born in 1904 in the northeastern Spanish city of Figueras and died there in 1989.

The centenary of his birth will be celebrated next year with a festival entitled The Year of Dali.

“This is the first time that Dali’s complete literary works have been published,” said Mauricio Bach, one of the editors.

“They include many unedited pieces and, with those, we want the greater public to recognise Dali as a writer. His writing is at the same level as his painting, it’s not secondary.”

The complete artistic works will be published in eight volumes. Six will contain all of Dali’s literature, which includes much unedited material, one volume is dedicated to the best interviews with the artist and the eighth volume will be an album of more than 500 photographs and illustrations.

The first volume begins with “A Diary: 1919-1920,” written by Dali between the ages of 15 and 16. This is the first time it has come out in Spanish.

“Here we meet a youth who is a great reader, who speaks of his favorite authors and (who) makes his desire to be a great writer known,” said Montse Auger, organiser of the Year of Dali.

The following title is “Vida Secreta” (The Secret Life of Salvador Dali), considered one of the best books of his books.

It is a peculiar autobiographical exercise mixing the painter’s purported memories from within the womb, critical-paranoid delusions and personal experiences.

Dali wrote this book at the age of 36 while living in the United States, where the Catalan genius had already been at the center of several scandals in New York.

The third book of the first volume is titled “Diario de un genio” (Diary of a Genius), covering the years 1952-1962.

In this book, the daily Dali reflects upon himself and his contemporaries with exalted and impassioned humor, just as he does with his own work.

“In these books, we find passion, according to Dali … They make his obsessions clear: death, Gala (his wife), eroticism, God, gold, angels or immortality and reincarnation … among the other 420 themes touched upon in this volume, ” said Auger

The books, which shed much new light on the controversial genius, are aimed at the general pubic and will cost about EUR 30 each.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news