In his latest poetry collection, It Was a Very Good Year (Ediciones Aïllades), Toni Roca (Palma, 1944) delves into his personal memories to recover moments, places, people and the soundtrack of his youth. The main setting is Ibiza in the 1960s and early 1970s, although his native Mallorca and Barcelona also feature. “It is a sentimental portrait”, says the poet and columnist for Diario de Ibiza, who will present his new work today at 8.15 p.m. at the Can Ventosa Municipal Library, in Ibiza Town, alongside his publisher, Ramon Mayol.
What prompted you to write It Was a Very Good Year?
I wanted to write a kind of memoir focused on the 1960s, which is when Ibiza began to open up to the world. For me, It Was a Very Good Year is a sentimental portrait of that decade and the early 1970s, and it is also a tribute to Frank Sinatra, who is one of my favourite singers. That is why I chose one of his songs to title and open the book. The translation of the song was done by Bernat Joan. I began writing the collection two or three years ago, at the same time as I was working on two other books — something that should not be done, and which I don’t think any poet would recommend.
I would like to know more about the portrait of you on the cover. Do you remember where and when it was taken?
The photo was taken by journalists from Televisión Española who came to the island to do a report on what remained of hippie Ibiza. I was one of the people they interviewed. It was in 1974, when I was 30 years old.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.