Gaite, Carmen MartínGoytisolo, Juan
Hierro, José Real
Molina, Antonio Muñoz
Pérez-Reverte, Arturo
Talens, Manuel
Vila-Matas, Enrique
Gaite, Carmen Martín
Goytisolo, Juan
Hierro, José Real
Molina, Antonio Muñoz
Pérez-Reverte,
Arturo
Talens, Manuel
Vila-Matas, Enrique
Painting by Antonio Saura.
Carmen
Martín Gaite was born in Salamanca on December 8, 1925 and became Spain's most
accomplished female writer. She studied Philosophy and Literature at the
University of Salamanca where she was first exposed to the
theater as an actress at school plays. Gaite wrote her first novel, Un
Dia de Libertad, in 1953 and married Rafael Sanchez Ferlosio the following
year. Their marriage only lasted a few years, during which they had two
children.
Her talent was first recognized in 1955 when she received the prestigious Premio Gijon for El Balneario. This was only the first of many awards she would receive in her career, which consisted primarily of novels, but also included essays, plays and poetry. Other works include Entre Visillos for which she was awarded the Premio Nadal, Las Ataduras (1960), Ritmo Lento (1963), Retahilas (1974), Cuentos Completos, Nubosidad Variable (Variable Cloud, 1992) and La Reina de Las Nieves - an homage to her daughter who tragically passed away before her mother and for which she won the Spanish Prize for Literature.
Gaite was the most decorated female author in Spain of her era. Some of the many literary awards she received include the Premio Nacional de Literature for El Cuarto de Atras (1978). In 1994 she also won the Premio Nacional de Las Letras, the Principe de Asturias Award in 1988, the Premio Acebo de Honor in 1988, the Premio Castilla y Leon de Las Letras in 1992, the Medalla de Oro del Circulo de Bellas Artes in 1997 and the Pluma de Plata del Circulo de las Escritura in 1999. Gaite died in Madrid on July 23, 2000 and was interred at the family property in El Boalo, next to her parents and daughter.
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Juan Goytisolo was born in Barcelona in 1931. Juan is considered one of the most popular Spanish writers in the 20th century. His main themes are the injustice and moral emptiness that prevailed in Spain during the Franco era. He lived in France for several years where his literary critiques became well known and where his fiction was clearly influenced by the French nouveau roman style. Some of his most popular novels are Fiestas (1958), The Party's over (1962), Marks of Identity (1966), Count Julian (1970), Juan the Landless (1975), Makbara (1980), Landscapes after Battle (1982), The Virtues of the Solitary Bird (1988), and Quarantine (1991). Most of these novels have been translated into several languages, including English.
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José Hierro Real was born in Madrid in 1922, but spent most of his childhood in Santander when his family moved to that city in Northern Spain. Jose studied at the Francis of Assisi School, and later enrolled in an Engineering school in Santander but dropped out in 1936 because of the political and economic situation that prevailed in the country during and immediately after the Civil War. José joined the Union of Revolutionary Writers and Artists. His first poem “Una Bala le ha Matado” (A Bullet Has Killed Him) was published in 1937 in Gijón. His father was incarcerated when Franco’s troops occupied Santander, and at the end of the Civil War José was arrested and sentenced for “assistance and adherence to the rebellion” and remained imprisoned until 1944 when he was released in Alcalá de Henares. José married Maria de Los Ángeles Torres in 1949. The couple had four children.
His early works emphasize his own experiences during his incarceration, the death of his father, the interruption of his college education, and the discovery of the Generation of 27. In 1946 he began to collaborate with a magazine called Proel, which published his poetry book “Tierra Sin Nosotros” (Land without Us) in 1947. Considered by critics as one of the most representative voices of social poetry in the post-war era, and a bridge between the Spanish Generation of 27 and modern poetry, Hierro became famous in 1947 for his work “Alegria” which earned him the Premio Adonais. Hierro’s work is intense, has great depth and beautiful verse.
The poet moved to Madrid in 1952 where he worked for Radio
Nacional de España, and as a free lancer for various
newspapers and magazines. His coverage of José
Caballero, Quinta del 42, which he categorized as an
homage to those that carried the burden and sadness of the civil war on their
shoulders, were published in 1953. In 1956 he won the Premio
Nacional de Poesia for his “Antologia Poetica”.
Two years later his “Estatuas Yacentes” was
published. He won the Critics Award again in 1963 for “Libros
de las Alucinaciones”. “Cuanto sé de mí”
(1989) earned him the Premio de la Critica; and in 1991
he presented 40 poems in three manuscripts “Cuanto Nunca”,
“Cinco Cabezas”, and “Nombres Propios”.
His “Cuaderno de Nueva York” (New York Notebook),
published in 1998, consists of 32 poems and is considered by many critics a
major work of contemporary poetry.
Hierro was awarded the Premio Principe de Asturias
in 1981, the Premio Nacional de Las Letras in 1990, the IV Premio
Reina Sofia for Poetry in 1995, the
Premio Cervantes in 1998, and the Premio
Internacional de Poesia Miguel Hernandez in 2000. He was admitted to the
Spanish Royal Academy of Literature in 1999.
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Antonio Muñoz Molina is considered one of Spain's best contemporary writers who notably became the youngest member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Literature in 1995. He was born in Ubeda, Jaen, in 1956 - the son of a family of modest means. Antonio studied Art History at the University of Granada and Journalism at the University of Madrid. He initially wrote newspaper articles which were later compiled into a book entitled El Robinson Urbano (1984).
His novel Beatus Ille (1986) introduces a fictitious city called Magina, which serves as the setting for several subsequent novels. Antonio earned the Critics Award and the National Award for narratives in 1987 for his novel El Invierno en Lisboa. Antonio won the National Award again, as well as the Planeta Award, in 1991 for his popular novel El Jinete Polaco. Other popular novels include Plenilunio (1997) and Sefarad. The latter is a powerful novel that juxtaposes the violence of ethnic warfare with a moving love story detailing the plight of people trapped in the conflict and the tragic social and human injustices they suffer. His 1989 novel, Beltenebros, offers a world of intrigue, adventure and love in Madrid following the Spanish Civil War. Madrid also serves as the setting for Los Misterios de Madrid (1992) and El Dueño del Secreto (1994).
Antonio's books usually have a sense of melancholy and a preoccupation with social issues, and are told in an elegant and sensitive prose. His deep reflections on issues of social significance offer an important insight into the modern culture of Spain.
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Arturo Pérez-Reverte was born in
Cartagena in 1951. Arturo studied Politics and Journalism, and also
learned Greek and Latin in his youth. Arturo began his professional career
working as a journalist for the newspaper Pueblo. He later became a well
known war correspondent working for the Spanish National Television network.
During this period he witnessed the tragedies of war on assignment in Beirut,
Sarajevo, Eritrea, Sudan, Mozambique and El Salvador. One of his first
assignments was during the war between Great Britain and Argentina. He was
actually listed as missing during a conflict in the Sahara in 1975 and then
again during the war in Ethiopia/Eritrea in 1977.
Arturo released his first novel, El Husar, in 1986 and abandoned his
career in war journalism for the safer trade of full-time novelist. He has
won numerous literary awards for his novels, including the Jean Monet Prize for
European Literature for his novel, La Piel del Tambor (1995). His
personal experiences and hobbies have served as a source of inspiration and
knowledge for many of his works. For example, his grandfather motivated
him to learn fencing in his youth, indicating that this was the only sport a
gentleman could practice with dignity. This experience resulted in an intimate
appreciation of the nuances of fencing which he successfully parlayed into
layman's terms in The Fencing Master (1988). He is also an avid sailor and scuba
diving enthusiast, which proved helpful for his recent novel, The Nautical Chart
(2000).
Arturo's works consistently reflect an attention to detail and intimate knowledge of the subject matter which he is able to convey in an effortless and interesting manner. His works often include the Spanish dichotomy between the Old and New Worlds and his most moving passages usually relate to a characters acceptance that the world no longer values their generation and beliefs. Arturo is one of the few Spanish writers to have achieved the elusive goal of International success. His works have been translated into nineteen languages in thirty countries and have sold well over three million copies world wide.
His best sellers include The Flanders Panel (1990), The Club Dumas (1993), The Seville Communion (1995), The Nautical Chart (2001) and The Queen of the South (2004). Two of his novels have been translated into movies - The Fencing Master, which became an award winning Spanish movie and The Club Dumas, which served as the basis for The Ninth Gate, starring Johnny Depp. Arturo's latest novel available in English is Captain Alatriste (2005) and the publisher plans on releasing the other 4 books in this series (previously released in their native Spanish years ago) at the rate of one per year. Arturo was elected to the Spanish Royal Academy of Literature on the first vote in January, 2003.
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Manuel Talens was born in Granada, Spain, in 1948. In recent years he has become one of the most popular Spanish authors with novels such as Hijas de Eva, La parábola de Carmen la Reina, Rueda del tiempo, and Venganzas, all published by Tusquets. Manuel also writes for the newspaper El Pais, in Valencia, works as a translator of fictional novels, and writes assorted essays and movie scripts.
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Enrique Vila-Matas was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1948. His works have been translated into eleven different languages, making him one of the best known contemporary Spanish writers. His most popular novels are “La asesina ilustrada” (1977), Impostura (1984), Historia Abreviada de la literatura portátil (1985), Una casa para siempre (1988), Suicidios ejemplares (1991), Hijos sin hijos (1993), Lejos de Veracruz (1995), Extraña forma de vida (1997); and his two masterpieces El viaje vertical (1999) and Bartleby y compañía (2000). Enrique has also written several essays and is a very popular journalist in his native country. He won the prestigious Romulo Gallegos literary award in 2001 for his novel El Viaje Vertical, and won the Herralde award in 2002.
