Valverde, Jose Maria

▪ 1997

      Spanish poet and scholar (b. Jan. 26, 1926, Valencia de Alcántara, Spain—d. June 6, 1996, Barcelona, Spain), was one of the leading voices of Spanish literature. His contemplative poetry explores the human condition in a religious or existential context. Valverde began writing verse at the age of 13 and published Hombre de Dios (1945) while a student at the University of Madrid. During that time he met the poets Leopoldo Panero, Luis Felipe Vivanco, and Luis Rosales. They shared Valverde's Christian faith and became important influences on his work, which showed his leanings toward liberation theology. Valverde's second book of poetry, La espera (1949), won the José Antonio Primo de Rivera National Prize for Literature in 1949. While teaching at the University of Barcelona, Valverde supported several colleagues who were dismissed for having participated in a student protest. As a result, he resigned and went into voluntary exile in 1967. While teaching abroad, Valverde published El profesor de español (1971) and Enseñanzas de la edad: poesía 1945-1970 (1971), which included most of his early work and a new collection entitled "Años inciertos." In 1977 he returned to Barcelona. Valverde's writings also extended to philosophy and social commentary. He translated into Spanish works by James Joyce, Herman Melville, William Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Rainer Maria Rilke, and, most notably, the Catalan poet Joan Maragall. His greatest scholarly contribution was the 10-volume Historia de la literatura universal (1957), on which he collaborated with Martín de Riquer.

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