The Strange Romance Of Lidia Poem by Paul Hartal

Born in 1882, Lidia Noguer i Saba of Cadaques
was the daughter of Baldiri Noguer and Dolors Sara,
a humble family of Catalan fishermen.
Lidia made her living by selling fish and for some time
being a hostess of a boarding house.
Among her guests were famous people
that included the artist Pablo Picasso,
the poet Federico Guarcia Lorca
and the architect Puig i Cadafalch.

As a young boy the artist Salvador Dali liked
to listen to Lidia's stories and when he married Gala
Lidia helped the young couple to settle in Portlligat.
One day the Catalan writer Eugenio d'Ors
arrived in Cadaques, met Lidia for a short time
and left. Lidia, however, fell in love at first sight
and became obsessed with d'Ors.

In 1911 d'Ors published a book,
La Ben Plantada, in which the protagonist was named Teresa.
Lidia identified herself with the the protagonist of the novel
and said that her real name was Teresa.
She started to write letters to d'Ors
but the writer left them unanswered.
This made Lidia very disappointed
and only increased her compulsive fixation
with d'Ors. Her obsession with the writer degenerated
into a state of progressive delirious madness.
Lidia searched and read d'Ors' published articles
in the papers and interpreted them as coded replies
to her letters.

Eugenio d'Ors wrote a book about her admirer,
La verdadera historia de Lidia de Cadaques
(The True History of Lidia de Cadaques) ,
which was illustrated by Salvador Dali.
Strangely enough, Lidia's imaginary romance
and paranoiac delirium became a source of inspiration
to the Catalan Surrealist artist.
Lidia died in 1954, aged 72.