José Angel Valente
José Angel Valente was a prominent Spanish poet and translator, born on April 25, 1929, in Orense, Galicia, Spain. His formative years were shaped by the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, which deeply influenced his literary voice. Valente studied law and later pursued philosophy and letters, earning a diploma in romance philology from the Universidad de Madrid in 1953. He spent a significant portion of his career abroad, including a notable period as a lecturer at Oxford University and later as a teacher in California. Valente ultimately settled in Geneva, Switzerland, where he worked as a translator for the World Health Organization.
Valente was known for his cerebral approach to poetry, aligning with contemporaries like Claudio Rodriguez and Francisco Brines in viewing poetry as a means to create new realities. His literary contributions earned him critical acclaim, including the Adonais Prize for his debut collection, "A modo de esperanza," in 1955, and the Crítica Prize for "Poemas a Lázaro" in 1960. Valente's legacy as a poet and translator continues to be recognized, reflecting the depth and complexity of his artistic vision. He passed away in Geneva in 2000.
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José Angel Valente
Poet
- Born: April 25, 1929
- Birthplace: Orense, Galicia, Spain
- Died: July 18, 2000
- Place of death: Geneva, Switzerland
Biography
José Angel Valente was born on April 25, 1929, in Orense, Galicia, Spain. He came of age after the Spanish Civil War, which rent his country in two. After studying law at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, he moved to Madrid in 1947, where he studied philosophy and letters at the Universidad de Madrid, receiving a diploma in romance philology in 1953.
From 1955 until 1958, Valente was a lecturer in the department of Hispanic studies at Oxford University in England, where he received his M.A. degree. He taught for a time at the University of California, but he spent most of his life in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was employed by the United Nations as a translator for the World Health Organization.
Valente also used his linguistic skills to translate the works of such poets as Gerard Manley Hopkins, Constantino Cafavis, and Eugenio Montale. He frequently contributed critical essays to literary periodicals. More importantly, he wrote poetry. His approach to writing his poetry was cerebral, and along with other Spanish poets of his day, such as Claudio Rodriguez, Carlos Sahagun, Francisco Brines, and Eladio Cabanero, he viewed the act of writing verse as equivalent to the creation of a new reality. In this endeavor he was highly successful, winning the coveted Adonais Prize for his first book of verse, A modo de esperanza, in 1955 and the Crítica Prize in 1960 for his second book of poetry, Poemas a Lázaro, published that year. He died in Geneva in 2000.