The Instituto Cervantes has created the Joan Margarit International Poetry Prize to annually distinguish "foreign poets with an internationally consolidated career, whose work contributes to the dissemination and appreciation of the Spanish language and culture". The collaboration agreement that made the award possible has been signed by the director of the Instituto Cervantes, Luís García Montero, the founder of the publishing house La Cama Sol, Javier Santiso, and the daughter of the Catalan poet, Mónica Margarit.
With this prize, whose initial endowment will be 7,000 euros, Margarit's family and the Cama Sol publishing house, which published joint works by the poet, want to respond to the interest the author always had in making known his two languages, Castilian and Catalan, to his favorite poets, among them, Thomas Hardy, Rainer Maria Rilke or Elizabeth Bishop, whom he worked so hard to translate.
The jury of the first edition of the award will be formed by the director of the Instituto Cervantes, Luís García Montero; the director of the publishing house La Cama Sol, Javier Santiso; the poet's daughter, Mónica Margarit; the professor of the Università della Calabria, Nuccio Ordine, and the director of the National Library of Spain, Ana Santos. ''We wanted someone from another country who was a defender of culture and literature. That is why we appreciate the presence of Professor, writer and philosopher Nuccio Ordine,'' Mónica Margarit stated in declarations to The New Barcelona Post. "And, of course, the collaboration of Ana Santos, the director of the library that holds the legacy as architect and poet of Joan Margarit,'' she added.
Candidacies may be submitted by embassies in Spain of any country in the world, Spanish embassies abroad, directors of the Instituto Cervantes internationally and other cultural entities. "This award is a joy for the whole family and a way to remember him,'' concluded Mónica Margarit.
Likewise, according to the agreement, the Instituto Cervantes will collaborate in the dissemination of the literary work of Joan Margarit, who passed away in 2021 in Sant Just Desvern. His extensive poetic work, original in Catalan and Castilian, has been translated into several languages, accumulating more than 20 awards. Among the distinctions received are the National Literature Prize of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2008), the National Poetry Prize of the Ministry of Culture (2008) and the Cervantes Prize (2019).