Sagarra, Josep Maria de

Sagarra, Josep Maria de (Josep Maria de Sagarra i Castellarnau) (zhōsĕp` mərē`ə dā səgär`rə ē kästəl-lyär`nou), 1894–1961, Catalonian poet, novelist, and playwright. He published his first poems at the age of 12 and later, on the advice of his mentors Miquel Costa i Llobera and Joan Maragall i Gorina, abandoned law for writing. Among his important poetic works are Cançons d'abril i novembre [songs of April and November] (1918), which makes graceful use of regional idioms, and the epic poem El Comte Arnau [Count Arnau] (1928), which emphasizes the human aspects of myth. His numerous plays, which were enormously popular, are noted for their originality and grace of language; they include L'estudiant i la pubille (1921) and L'hostel de la glòria (1931). His novels are largely social satires.