Leopoldo Panero
Leopoldo Panero Torbado, born on October 17, 1909, in Astorga, Spain, was a prominent Spanish poet known for his profound explorations of themes such as death, temporality, religion, and family. The youngest son in his family, Panero began his literary journey in his youth, founding a literary review and publishing works about his hometown. His education included time at law school in Madrid, where he also started writing poetry, influenced by notable poets like Jorge Guillén and Antonio Machado. Panero's life was marked by personal tragedies, including the deaths of close family members and his own battle with tuberculosis, which deeply influenced his writing.
His most acclaimed work, "Escrito a cada instante," published in 1949, solidified his reputation and won several literary awards, including the Premio Nacional de Literatura. While much of his poetry reflects personal and familial experiences, he also engaged with political themes, notably in his response to Pablo Neruda. Throughout his career, Panero contributed to various literary journals and served as director of the Spanish Institute in London. He passed away on August 27, 1962, in Madrid, and has since been recognized as a significant figure in Spanish literature, with an annual poetry prize established in his name.
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Leopoldo Panero
Poet
- Born: October 17, 1909
- Birthplace: Astorga, León, Spain
- Died: August 27, 1962
- Place of death: Madrid, Spain
Biography
Noted for his recurring poetic meditations on death, temporality, religion, and family, Leopoldo Panero Torbado was born on October 17, 1909, in Astorga, Spain, in the province of León, the youngest son of Moisés Panero and Máxima Torbado de Panero. He attended a parochial school in San Sebastián and college in Valladolid. In 1928, Panero founded a weekly literary review, Humo, with his brother Juan and some friends; the group also wrote a book on their hometown, Guía artística y sentimental de la ciudad de Astorga (artistic and sentimental guide to the city of Astorga, 1929). He entered law school at the University of Madrid, but also began writing his own poetry and prose, being deeply influenced by the poets Jorge Guillén and Antonio Machado, and established another journal, Nueva Revista.
However, a series of personal losses began in the same year: his beloved grandfather died and, in the fall, Panero himself was diagnosed with tuberculosis. After spending the next eight months at the Royal Sanatorium of Guadarrama and returning to Astorga in the summer of 1930, Panero wrote about this experience in “Versos de Guadarrama,” collected in Obras completas (1973). A more general setback occurred in July 1936, when the Spanish Civil War began. Suspected of subversive activities, Panero was imprisoned for a month; after his release, Panero joined the Nationalist forces to establish his patriotic credentials. However, Panero’s connection with the idyllic life of his childhood was permanently shattered by the death in August, 1937, of his brother Juan. In response to this event, Panero wrote “Adolescente en sombra,” published in 1938 and collected in Poesía, 1932-1960 (1963).
As the civil war ended, Panero married Felicidad Blanc y Bergnes de las Casas, also a writer; their children include the poets Juan Luis Panero and Leopoldo María Panero. He became director of the Spanish Institute in London and brought out the two volumes of Antología de la poesía Hispanoamericana (1944-1945) and his own La estancia vacía (the empty stay, 1945). Panero’s poem “Canto al Teleno” (song to Teleno) won first prize in poetry at the 1948 Jérez Harvest Festival, but his greatest poetic success came with the publication of Escrito a cada instante (writing at every instant) in 1949. This volume established Panero’s own voice as a poet and was the first work with which the poet himself was fully satisfied. It was awarded the Premio Nacional de Literatura and the Spanish Royal Academy’s Fastenrath Prize (1949). Panero became editor of Correo Literario, the magazine of the Institute of Hispanic Culture.
Most of Panero’s poetry is rooted in his home, family life, and religious experience. However, in Canto personal: Carta perdida a Pablo Neruda (a personal song: lost letter to Pablo Neruda, 1953), Panero ventured into the political arena, attempting to defend Francoist Spain against the attacks of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. For this work, Panero received the José Antonio Primo de Rivera Prize; however, it is considered inferior to his more lyrical productions.
In his last years, Panero served as literary reviewer for the weekly Blanco y Negro; his last great work, “Cándida puerta” (shining door) was published in 1960 in Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos. A religious book, La verdad en persona (the truth in person), remained unfinished at Panero’s death on August 27, 1962, in Madrid. In 1963, the Instituto de Cultura Hispánica began an annual poetry prize in Panero’s name; his stature in Spanish literature has grown steadily since his death.