Emili Teixidor

Emili Teixidor i Viladecàs (22 December 1932 – 19 June 2012) was a Catalan writer, journalist and pedagogue. He wrote over thirty novels, mainly for children and teenagers, but he is perhaps best known for his acclaimed adult novel, Black Bread (Catalan: Pa negre), which inspired a film of the same name. Emili Teixidor was born on 22 December 1932 in the town of Roda de Ter in the Osona region of Catalonia. His mother, Filomena Viladecàs i Planas, was a worker in the local textile factory, and his father, Jaume Teixidó i Corominas, drove a bus. The family’s history was marked by the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent repression. Following the Francoist victory and the defeat of the Spanish Republic, Teixidor’s father was imprisoned by the fascists. Unlike so many other Catalans who opposed Franco, he was fortunate to be released from prison. An uncle, Josep Teixidor, rather than risk imprisonment or execution, fled to exile in Mexico.