Manel Garcia Grau was a poet, novelist and professor of Catalan Philology at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló. His first book of poems was Quadern d'estances (Notebook of Rooms – 1988), which was closely followed by a dozen titles, outstanding of which include Llibre de les figuracions (Book of Manifestations – 1993), Al fons de vies desertes (At the Bottom of Desert Paths – 2002) and most recently La mordassa (The Gag – 2003). His poetry has won prizes such as the Vicent Andrés Estellés (1990), the Golden Rose at the Jocs Florals of Barcelona (1997) and the Ausias March (2000). Beyond this he has had a solid career as an essayist, particularly on the literary and linguistic themes that are his principal interests. Recently, Garcia Grau tried his hand at the novel with El Papa maleït (The Accursed Pope – Planeta, 2003), a story of intrigue about Pope Luna. Also; he wrote opinion pieces and literary criticism in various newspapers and journals, including Serra d'Or, Levante, Avui, Mediterráneo and the Heraldo de Castellón. He died in Castelló on 5th June 2006. He is known to be the best poet born in the Maestrat region, and one of the best poetic voices in the Catalan language of the last decades.
Manel Garcia Grau was a poet, novelist and professor of Catalan Philology at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló. His first book of poems was Quadern d'estances (Notebook of Rooms – 1988), which was closely followed by a dozen titles, outstanding of which include Llibre de les figuracions (Book of Manifestations – 1993), Al fons de vies desertes (At the Bottom of Desert Paths – 2002) and most recently La mordassa (The Gag – 2003). His poetry has won prizes such as the Vicent Andrés Estellés (1990), the Golden Rose at the Jocs Florals of Barcelona (1997) and the Ausias March (2000). Beyond this he has had a solid career as an essayist, particularly on the literary and linguistic themes that are his principal interests. Recently, Garcia Grau tried his hand at the novel with El Papa maleït (The Accursed Pope – Planeta, 2003), a story of intrigue about Pope Luna. Also; he wrote opinion pieces and literary criticism in various newspapers and journals, including Serra d'Or, Levante, Avui, Mediterráneo and the Heraldo de Castellón. 
