Irene Vallejo Moreu, born in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

in 1979, is a Spanish

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

, historian, and writer.

Career

A doctor of

classical philology Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

from the universities of

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, much of her work focuses on the investigation and exploration of classical authors, particularly their connection and intersection with the present day. Her first published book was a scholarly investigation into literary terminology in the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

poet

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

. Other work has consisted of articles published in the Spanish newspapers ''

Heraldo de Aragón ''Heraldo de Aragón'' is a Spanish language regional daily newspaper published in Saragossa, Spain. The paper has been in circulation since 1895. History and profile ''Heraldo de Aragón'' was first published on 20 September 1895. The owner is ...

'' and ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'', in which she mixes discussion of ancient writers and current events. Some of these articles were eventually collected into two books, published under the titles ''El pasado que te espera'' and ''Alguien habló de nosotros''. In 2020 she was awarded the ''Premio Nacional de Literatura en la Modalidad de Ensayo'' (the National Prize of Literature in the Manner of the Essay) for her book ''El Infinito en un Junco'' – Infinity in a Reed (Published in English in 2022 as ''Papyrus''), the fifth woman to win the prize since its creation in 1975. She was the first woman to win the prize since the philosopher

Celia Amorós Celia Amorós Puente (born 1 January 1944 in Valencia) is a Spanish philosopher, essayist and supporter of feminist theory. She is a key figure in the so-called equality feminism and focused an important part of her research in the building of ...

in 2006. She later went on to receive in 2021 the Premio Aragón, the highest distinction awarded by the

government of Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises th ...

for the same book. The book was translated into English by Charlotte Whittle, and published in 2022 by

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

, to favourable reviews by the English-speaking press, with praise from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and featuring on ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

s best books of 2022.The book chronicles the history of books and reading in the ancient world, detailing both how these activities shaped the ancient world then and how these effects reverberate to this day. She also writes both fiction and children's literature. In 2011, she published her first novel, ''La Luz Sepultada'', set in Zaragoza in 1936 amid the buildup to the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. Her second novel, ''El Silbido del Arquero'', was published in 2015 by Contraseña. She has as well written two children's books, ''El Inventor de Viajes'', illustrated by José Luis Cano, and ''La Leyenda de las Mareas Mansas'', in collaboration with the painter Lina Vila.

Works

* ''Terminología Libraria y Crítico-literaria en Marcial'' (2008) * ''El Pasado que te Espera'' (2010) * ''La Luz Sepultada'' (2011) * ''El Inventor de Viajes'' (2014) * ''La Leyenda de las Mareas Mansas'' (2015) * ''El Silbido del Arquero'' (2015) * ''Alguien Habló de Nosotros'' (2017) * ''El Infinito en un Junco'' (2019) * ''Manifiesto por la Lectura'' (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallejo, Irene 1979 births Living people Spanish philologists