Poet, translator and renowned Hebraist, Manuel Forcano (Barcelona, 1968) is one of the most unique intellectual voices in contemporary Catalan culture. His career combines literary creation with a solid work of studying and disseminating Hebrew and Arabic cultures, which has made him a privileged bridge between traditions that have historically shared spaces of dialogue, but also of conflict.
A doctor in Semitic philology and a specialist in the history and literature of the Near East, Forcano has dedicated a good part of his career to the study and translation of medieval and modern Hebrew texts. At the same time, he has a poetic work –recognized with several awards– that is characterized by a writing of high symbolic intensity, where the Mediterranean tradition, the memory of ancient cultures, the importance of travel –interior and exterior– as a tool of human knowledge and a profound reflection on identity, desire and time, dialogue. Manuel Forcano is currently the director of the Poetry Festival, together with the poet Anna Gual.
His selection as guest artist for the 2026-27 season of the Palau de la Música Catalana, which has peace as its central theme, is supported by his solid intellectual career. In a historical moment marked by tensions and cultural fractures, Forcano’s perspective offers a particularly valuable perspective: that of a scholar who has in-depth knowledge of the religious and literary traditions of the Mediterranean East and who is at the same time capable of translating this knowledge into a contemporary poetic reflection full of hope.
From his experience as a poet and translator of texts born in diverse cultural contexts, Forcano can provide a perspective that reminds us that peace is not only a political aspiration, but also a cultural construction: a meeting place between languages, memories and traditions.
In this sense, his voice becomes especially pertinent for a season that seeks to explore the capacity of art to generate understanding and listening. Like the music that resonates in the Palau, the poetry and thought of Manuel Forcano invite us to cross borders and discover, in the diversity of cultures, a possible shared harmony.
