Torrente Ballester, Gonzalo

Torrente Ballester, Gonzalo
▪ 2000

      Spanish writer and literary critic (b. June 13, 1910, Serantes, near El Ferrol, Spain—d. Jan. 27, 1999, Salamanca, Spain), was inducted into the Real Academia Española in 1977, was honoured in 1981 with Spain's National Prize for Literature, and was awarded the Cervantes Prize for literature in 1985; lauded in later years as a literary master, he created dynamic novels that were steeped in irony and supernatural events and that featured both gritty and picturesque Galician settings. While a student in Madrid, Torrente wrote for La Tierra, an anarchist newspaper, but in 1937, a year after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he joined the fascist Falange. His first novel, Javier Mariño (1943), was censored by the Franco government. Torrente gained respect as a literary historian with his critical works Panorama de la literatura española contemporánea (1956) and Teatro español contemporáneo (1957, 2nd ed. 1968). Between 1958 and 1962 he published the trilogy Los gozos y las sombras, the saga of a family struggling against political tyranny; these books were adapted as a television series in the 1980s. Another novel, Don Juan (1963), which was Torrente's personal favourite, was largely ignored by critics because of his public opposition to government policies. After Torrente returned from a professorship at the State University of New York at Albany, he published La saga/fuga de J.B. (1972), a work that brought him popular renown, as did the screen adaptation of his Crónica del rey pasmado (1989), which was directed by Imanol Uribe. Because Torrente's means were limited and his family large (11 children from two marriages), he taught high school and wrote prodigiously, crafting 25 novels, in order to maintain an income. His perspective on life, and his work, oscillated between rationalism and intellect on the one hand and myth and imagination on the other. He found inspiration in his Galician roots, and his creativity was sharpened by the superstitious family members who had helped to shape his childhood.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Torrente Ballester, Gonzalo — b. 1910, El Ferrol    Writer    Teacher, newspaper columnist, critic and novelist, Torrente came to maturity under the influence of Ortega y Gasset, Unamuno, R.Gómez de la Serna and Picasso at the height of literary and artistic experimentation… …   Encyclopedia of contemporary Spanish culture

  • Torrente Ballester — Torrente Ballester, Gonzalo …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Torrente Ballester, Gonzalo — ► (1910 99) Escritor español. Inició su carrera literaria con el drama El viaje del joven Tobías, 1938. Su obra fundamental es la trilogía Los gozos y las sombras (El señor llega, 1957; Donde da la vuelta el aire, 1960, y La Pascua triste, 1962) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Torrente Ballester — Gonzalo Torrente Ballester (* 13. Juni 1910 in Ferrol; † 27. Januar 1999 in Salamanca) war ein spanischer Schriftsteller. Leben Gonzalo Torrente Ballester wurde am 13. Juni 1910 in Ferrol in der Nähe von A Coruña, Spanien geboren. 1926 begann er… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gonzalo Torrente Ballester — (* 13. Juni 1910 in Ferrol; † 27. Januar 1999 in Salamanca) war ein spanischer Schriftsteller. Leben Gonzalo Torrente Ballester wurde am 13. Juni 1910 in Ferrol …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gonzalo Torrente Ballester — Para otros usos de este término, véase Torrente. Gonzalo Torrente Ballester Nacimiento 13 de junio …   Wikipedia Español

  • Gonzalo Torrente Ballester — (June 13, 1910 January 27, 1999) was a Galician writer in Spanish language. He was born in Serantes, Ferrol, Galicia, and received his first education there, subsequently attending the universities of Santiago de Compostela and Oviedo.Although… …   Wikipedia

  • Gonzalo Torrente Ballester — Buste érigé dans son village natal. Gonzalo Torrente Ballester est un auteur espagnol, né le 13 juin 1910 à Serantes, paroisse de Ferrol en Galice (Espagne), décédé le 27 janvier 1999 à Salamanque …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gonzalo Torrente Ballester — (13 de junio de 1910 27 de enero de 1999), profesor, novelista y autor de teatro. En 1975 fue elegido miembro de la Real Academia Española. Recibió el Premio Príncipe de Asturias en 1982 y el Cervantes en 1985. También fue premiado con el Premio… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Torrente Ballester —   [tɔ rrɛnte βaʎes tɛr], Gonzalo, spanischer Schriftsteller, * El Ferrol 13. 6. 1910, ✝ Salamanca 27. 1. 1999; Gymnasiallehrer; 1962 Bruch mit dem Franco Staat und Verlust seines Amtes; 1966 70 Gastprofessor in Albany (N. Y.); ab 1975 Mitglied… …   Universal-Lexikon

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