Her biographer, the singer-songwriter and social activist Montse Castellà, speaks fondly of Burgos, highlighting her passion for words and her ability to write from the “periphery” with a calm and accessible voice. Zoraida Burgos was born in Tortosa in 1933, during the Second Republic.
“"Zoraida Burgos wrote in a calm, intelligent, modest way, using street words and more cultured ones, but in a very close manner, so that when you finished reading one of her poems, you wanted to read it again."
In addition to her roles as a writer and librarian (in Ulldecona, Amposta, and Tortosa), Burgos was also a graphologist, painter, and art restorer. Castellà notes that Burgos's discretion and shyness, coupled with her origins in southern Catalonia, meant she did not receive the full recognition she deserved, although she was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi late in life.
The biography Zoraida Burgos i Matheu (Onada Edicions) was the result of a six-year, “slow-cooked” collaboration between the two women. Burgos, who mastered several languages including German, Italian, French, and English, sought maximum conciseness in her verses. Her complete poetic work, Convivència d’aigües (LaBreu, 2017), won the Catalan Critics' Prize in 2018.
