Catalan poet Miquel Martí i Pol's photographic archive becomes publicly accessible

The photographic archive of Miquel Martí i Pol, one of Catalonia's most famous poets, is now digitally accessible, coinciding with the writer's 96th anniversary of his birth. 

The foundation under his name published a digital archive of over 2,000 pictures of the widely read Catalan poet of the 20th century. 

Over the past few years, the foundation has been cataloging and digitalizing this collection, which mainly comes from family donations.  

Starting Thursday, anyone can digitally access the archive's 2,000 photographs, most of them have never been publicly shown before. The project's aim is to provide an in-depth look into the poet's personal and public life. 

''By looking at these images, you can clearly see that he was a popular poet and grasp the magnitude of his legacy,'' the foundation's director, Montse Caralt, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).  

The poet's widow, Montserrat Sants, was the main major donor back in December 2020, followed by the artist's children Mariàngels and Jordi Martí in 2022.

The collection has also been enriched by donations from other institutions and individuals.

''When you look at the images, you realize the poet's significance in his time. He constantly welcomed authors and visitors into his home and was frequently invited to events and inaugurations. These images clearly show that he was a poet of the people,'' Caralt explained.  

Martí i Pol's daughter, Mariàngels Martí, played a key role in expanding the digital archive by contributing photographs she had kept at home. She stated that making the archive public is ''a way to get to know my father from another perspective, not just as a writer, but also in a more intimate way.'' 

With the image bank now open to the public, the foundation plans to continue to grow it with new images, additional information, and author identifications. "There’s still a lot of work to do," admitted archivist and collection manager Mercè Franquesa, who explained that each photo will eventually be accompanied by contextual details. 

Many of the photographs in the archive do not have confirmed authors. Caralt hopes that making the images public will help identify their photographers. The foundation is also encouraging public collaboration in identifying other people featured in the images, as well as the events and contexts in which the photos were taken. 

The public can access the poet’s photographic archive through a dedicated link on the website www.miquelmartiipol.cat.