José María Valverde
José María Valverde was a notable Spanish poet and scholar, born on January 26, 1926, in Valencia de Alcántara, Cáceres, Spain. He began writing poetry at a young age, with his first poem published by the age of seventeen. Valverde pursued higher education at the University of Madrid, earning a doctorate in philosophy, and gained recognition for his work when his poetry was published by editor José García Nieto. His early poetry was heavily influenced by his theological beliefs and family life, reflecting a devout Catholic perspective. Valverde's work evolved over time to explore linguistic and social issues, often infused with irony, particularly regarding the intersection of faith and politics in Spain. He faced political challenges during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, leading to his exile during the 1960s. After Franco's death in 1977, he returned to Spain and continued his teaching and literary career, producing notable works throughout his lifetime. Valverde received several literary awards, including the José Antonio Primo de Rivera National Prize for Literature and the Premio de la Crítica.
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Subject Terms
José María Valverde
Poet
- Born: January 26, 1926
- Birthplace: Valencia de Alcántara, Cáceres, Spain
- Died: June 6, 1996
- Place of death: Barcelona, Spain
Biography
José Maria Valverde, a Spanish poet and scholar, was born on January 26, 1926, in Valencia de Alcántara, Cáceres, Spain. As a child of thirteen, he began writing poetry, and his first poem was published when he was seventeen. He went to the University of Madrid, and later earned a doctorate in philosophy from the university. While he was a student, he sent some of his poetry to Jose Garica Nieto, the editor of Garcilaso. Nieto was impressed enough to publish some of his poems, which were later collected into his first book of poetry, Hombre de Dios.
Valverde became acquainted with fellow poets Leopoldo Panero, Luis Felipe Vivanco, and Luis Rosales during his time at the university. These poets shared Valverde’s theology, and they became important influences on his work. After his graduation, Valverde married Pilar Hedy Gefaell, and the couple eventually had five children.
In 1950, the family moved to Rome, Italy, where he lived for five years. During his stay in Italy, he published Versos del domingo. The poems described the joy that he felt while living there, including the birth of two of his children. At the end of five years, he returned to Spain after having accepted the chairmanship of the department of aesthetics at the University of Barcelona.
Valverde spent the next ten years involved in a number of scholarly projects and translations, including the translation of the four Gospels into everyday Spanish. Valverde resigned his post at the university in 1965. At this time, several of his colleagues were expelled from the university because of their participation in a student protest against the academic authorities who supported the ideology of dictator Francisco Franco. Valverde, himself an anti-Francoist, went into exile for the next few years.
Between 1968 and 1977, Valverde taught Hispanic literature, first at the University of Virginia, and later at the University of Trent in Canada. While he was teaching abroad, Valverde published El profesor de espanõl and Enseñanzas de la edad: Poesia, 1945-1970 which contained much of his earlier poetry and a collection of new poems called Años incietros. In 1977, after the death of Franco, he returned to Spain where he resumed teaching at the University of Barcelona.
Valverde belonged to a group of poets called the Juventud Creadora. A devout Catholic, his early poetry reflects his religious views and his search for God. Valverde’s poetry written during the 1950’s focuses on family life, a subject of great interest to him because of his own children. Later in his life his poetry was increasingly concerned with linguistic and social issues. Valverde’s poetry is full of irony, especially when he wrote about the role of God in the everyday social and political life of Spain. In 1949, he won the José Antonio Primo de Rivera National Prize for Literature for La espera, and he won the Premio de la Critica award in 1962 for Poesias reunidas, hasta 1960.