Gloria Fuertes

Gloria Fuertes García (28 July, 1917 – 27 November, 1998) was a Spanish poet and author of children's literature. She was part of the Spanish literary movement known as '' postismo (post-ism)'' that began after the Spanish Civil War. Active in the Spanish artistic movement known as Generation of '50, Fuertes was known as a singular voice in Spanish post-war poetry. She was also known in Spain for her children's television shows. Her work focused on gender equality, pacifism, and environmentalism.

Early life

Fuertes was born on 28 July, 1917 in Madrid, Spain. Her mother was a seamstress and maid, and her father was a beadle. She attended the Institute of Vocational Education of Women, where she studied shorthand, typing, and childcare. She started crafting and illustrating stories at the age of five. Fuertes published her first poem at the age of 14, ''Niñez, Juventud, Vejez (Childhood, Youth, Old Age)''. At 17, she composed her first book of poems, ''Isla Ignorada'', which was published in 1950. In 1934, she started working as an accountant and secretary, and she continued writing children's stories, as well as plays and poetry.

Career

Between 1940 and 1953, Fuertes' work began appearing in children's magazines, including ''Pelayos, Chicos, Chicas, Chiquitito'', in children's books, such as ''Flechas y Pelayos (Maravillas),'' and in the newspaper ''Arriba'', which published the comic strip "Coletas and Pelines".

Alongside her dedication to children's literature in magazines, plays, and poems Fuertes, along with Maria Dolores and Adelaida Lasantas, founded the group "Verses in Skirts" in 1951. The group organized concerts and poetry readings at bars and locals cafes, collaborated in adult magazines such as ''Directions, Spanish Poetry'' and ''Straw Bird'', and created and directed the poetry magazine ''Archer'' between 1950 and 1954 along with Antonio Gala, Julio Mariscal and Rafael Mir.

From 1955 to 1960, Fuertes studied library science and English at the International Institute. In 1961, she received a Fulbright scholarship in the United States to teach Spanish literature at Bucknell University. Later, she taught at Mary Baldwin University, Bryn Mawr College, and the International Institute until 1963. In 1972, she received a scholarship from the Juan March Foundation for Children's Literature.

In the mid-1970s, she was involved in various children's programs such as ''TVE, Siendo Un Globo, Dos Globos,'' and ''Tres Globos y La Cometa Blanca and'' ''Martes y Trece.''

Themes and Postismo influence

Fuertes' poetry has a "colloquial tone" and often mentions everyday items or events.

The influence of the ''postismo'' movement, which began in response to the Spanish Civil War, is shown in Fuertes' use of humor. The Civil War left a deep impression on her. Her poetry displays her anti-war stance and her protest against the absurdity of civilization. As she said, "without the tragedy of war I might never have written poetry."

As a child who grew up in Francoist Spain, Fuertes' work is characterized by irony and deals with universal issues such as love, pain, death, and loneliness. Her works are known for containing metaphors and linguistic games, which give her poems a musicality and cadence close to spoken language. There has been speculation about her sexuality, which subtly appears declared in poems like "What Irritates Me", "I am open to all," "Jenny," etc.

Gender and identity

Fuertes never concealed the fact that she was a lesbian, despite the attitudes of the Franco dictatorship. She came from a working-class background, which some experts state set her apart from other poets at the time. Sharon Keefe Ugalde of the University of Texas said that her "folksy and deliberately fresh orality" set her apart from the popular poets of postwar Spain. Meanwhile, Reyes Vila-Belda of Indiana University claims that although she was not part of the literary establishment in Spain, she "opened the poetic space" to the concerns of women and the working class.

In her work, Fuertes reclaimed many women's rights, such as the right to read, the right to write, the right to work, and the right to be a poet during a period of time when women were confined to the domestic sphere. She also called traditional gender roles into question during the Spanish dictatorship under Francisco Franco, and presented a new model of the woman instead. One of Fuertes's best-known works with regard to gender equality is ''Three Wise Queens: Melchora, Gaspara, y Baltasara''. The book, published in 1978, has become a classic of children's literature in Spain. In the story, the Three Wise Men are unable to go to Bethlehem, so their wives undertake the journey instead. Instead of adhering to the strict gender roles women were expected to fulfill in Francoist Spain, the female protagonists choose to leave the home, follow the star, and bring gifts to the newborn Jesus.

In addition to fighting for gender equality, Fuertes was also a pacifist who publicly opposed the Spanish Civil War, in addition to the wars in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Personal life

Fuertes died of lung cancer on November 27, 1998, and was buried in the South Cemetery Madrid. In 2001, her remains were transferred to the Cemetery of La Paz of Alcobendas in Madrid. She left her fortune to a Catholic orphanage.

Tribute

On 28 July 2016, Google celebrated her 99th birthday with a Google Doodle.

Work

Children's books

Poetry

* ''Canciones para niños'' (1956)
* ''Villancicos'' (1956)
* ''Cangura para todo'' (1968). Honorable Mention in the Hans Christian Andersen prize of Children's Literature.
* ''Don Pato y Don Pito'' (1970)
* ''Aurora, Brígida y Carlos'' (1970)
* ''La pájara pinta'' (1972)
* "La Oca Loca" (1977)
* ''El camello cojito'' (1978)
* ''El hada acaramelada'' (1973)
* ''La gata chundarata y otros cuentos'' (1974)
* ''El dragón tragón'' (1978)
* ''La momia tiene catarro'' (1978)
* ''El libro loco. De todo un poco'' (1981)
* ''El perro que no sabía ladrar'' (1982)
* ''El abecedario de don Hilario'' (1983)
* ''El burro y la escuela'' (1987)
* ''Trabalenguas para que se trabe tu lengua'' (1988)
* ''El cocinero distraído'' (1994)

Theatre

* ''La princesa que quería ser pobre'' (1942)
* ''El chinito Chin-cha-té'' (1955)
* ''Petra, un señor pregunta por ti'' (1970)
* ''Las tres reinas magas'' (1978)

Television

* '' Un globo, dos globos, tres globos''
* '' La mansión de los Plaff''
* ''La cometa blanca''
* ''Big Vand''
* ''Los pequeños niños atacan de nuevo''

Adult literature

* ''Isla ignorada'' (1950)
* ''Antología y poemas del suburbio'' (1954)
* ''Aconsejo beber hilo'' (1954)
* ''Todo asusta'' Caracas (1958). Primera mención del Concurso Internacional de Poesía Lírica Hispana
* ''Que estás en la tierra'' (1962)
* ''Ni tiro, ni veneno, ni navaja'' (1965). Premio Guipúzcoa
* ''Poeta de guardia'' (1968)
* ''Cómo atar los bigotes del tigre'' (1969). Accésit premio Vizcaya
* ''Antología poética'' (1950-1969)
* ''Sola en la sala'' (1973)
* ''Cuando amas aprendes geografía'' (1973)
* ''Obras incompletas'' (1980)
* ''Historia de Gloria: (amor, humor y desamor)'' (1983)
* ''Mujer de verso en pecho'' (1983)
* ''Pecábamos como ángeles'' (1997)
* ''Glorierías'' (1999)
* ''Es difícil ser feliz una tarde'' (2005)
* ''El Rastro'' (2006) Relatos
* ''Se beben la luz'' (2008)
* ''Los brazos desiertos'' (2009)
* ''El caserón de la loca'' (2010) (theatre)
* ''Poemas prácticos más que teóricos'' (2011)

References

External links

Especial en Cervantes Virtual

Fundación Gloria Fuertes

www.escritoras.com

Poéticas de Gloria Fuertes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuertes, Gloria
1917 births
1998 deaths
Writers from Madrid
Spanish women poets
20th-century Spanish poets
Spanish children's writers
Spanish women children's writers
20th-century Spanish women writers