Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Arts & Crafts
Mallorca has provided a constant source of inspiration for artists over the
centuries - Joan Miró loved the luminosity of the light he so eloquently cap-
tured on canvas, while local legend Miquel Barceló has added a vibrant
splash of colour to galleries across the island. Travel the island today and
you will still encounter deep-rooted arts and crafts traditions, be it in the up-
beat ballads sung at
festes
(festivals) or the leather-making factories in
Inca, where funky footwear label Camper took its first steps.
In 1936, inspired by a stay in the then little-known town of Pollença, Agatha Christie wrote
the short crime thriller
Problem at Pollensa Bay,
which would later be the title for a volume
of eight short crime mysteries.
Literature
For centuries, Mallorca's writers have not only strived for literary excellence, but have
sought to deploy such excellence in promoting Catalan or Mallorquin as powerful forms
of cultural expression. Many of the works have now been translated, and reading just a
few will initiate you into a rich literary scene little known beyond the Catalan-speaking
world.
Those curious to find out more about authors writing in Catalan, in Mallorca and else-
where in the Catalan-speaking world, should check out
www.escriptors.cat
, the website of
the Association of Catalan Language Writers.
WRITINGS ABOUT MALLORCA
Mallorca has long inspired foreign writers, both in providing a place in which to write
and yielding up rich subject matter for the stories themselves.
»
A Lizard in my Luggage(2006),Goats from a Small Island(2009),Donkeys on my
Doorstep(2010),A Bull on the Beach(2012), by Anna Nicholas.
»
Snowball Oranges(2000),Mañana Mañana(2001), Viva Mallorca(2004) andA
Basketful of Snowflakes(2007), by Peter Kerr.
»
Rafael's Wings: A Novel of Mallorca(2006), by Sian Mackay.
