Let's fly

There are books that help doves take flight in the most delightful way: they are capsules of salvation that ignite the imagination and help us ascend, to reconcile our spirits in the beautiful dream of a collective (un)consciousness. With one of these special books, I want to begin this new year, 2026, perhaps with the secret hope that this year we will spread our wings and take flight with the passion ignited by the most powerful literature and the illusions it contains. I am speaking of the magnificent essay The winged ones, by Elisabet Riera, published by Editorial Males Herbes and endorsed by the increasingly prestigious Finestres Essay Grant.

The winged ones, Isabel Riera's book is a beautiful exploration of the primal fascination that has accompanied humankind since its origins: the possibility of flight. Through its well-researched and engaging pages, we witness the many symbolic representations of this shared dream. The author proposes a reflective journey that begins with the figure of feathered creatures to explore how different peoples and traditions have projected human desires, fears, and aspirations onto these beings. Birds appear as mirrors of who we are and who we aspire to be: presences that permeate myths, stories, and beliefs, laden with meanings that extend far beyond their role in nature. Thus, she concludes that this recurring presence in the collective imagination and in all the arts reveals a constant human need to look upwards and seek new horizons that transcend the limits of the everyday. This delightful volume, written in exquisite prose, also champions the mind's capacity to shed the weight of reality and move freely into other possible realms, drawing a parallel between this inner impulse and the act of taking flight. Wings thus become a metaphor for what brings us closer to deeper dimensions of experience, where thought, creation, and observation of the world engage in a boundless dialogue. Riera weaves a cosmogonic vision that integrates aesthetic sensibility, intellectual inquiry, and attention to the environment, demonstrating how these spheres mutually enrich each other when approached together. The finest passages rival the writings of admired masters like Joseph Campbell.

It is inspiring that such revealing works are being published, highly personal explorations that shun the constraints of academicism, a happy publication in a happy Blai Bonet Year in which the Santanyí City Council has decided to create and establish the new Blai Bonet Prize for contemporary thought, an award that hopefully will encourage more titles. The winged ones, by Isabel Riera, a beautiful and illuminating essay that truly invites us to fly.