José Agustín Goytisolo Gay (

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, 13 April 1928 – 19 March 1999) was a Spanish poet, scholar and essayist. He was the brother of

Juan Goytisolo Juan Goytisolo Gay (6 January 1931 – 4 June 2017) was a Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist. He lived in Marrakesh from 1997 until his death in 2017. He was considered Spain's greatest living writer at the beginning of the 21st century, yet ...

and Luis Goytisolo, also writers.

Biography

Born in Barcelona on 13 April 1928, in an upper class Spanish-only speaking family (that is, non Catalan-speaking though he spoke perfect Catalan and translated Catalan poems into other languages), his family was brutally shaken by the death of his mother (Julia Gay) in a Franoist Nationalist bombardment in 1938. José Agustín was especially affected and named his daughter after his lost mother. In ''Words for Julia'', one of his best-known poems (sung by

Paco Ibáñez Francisco "Paco" Ibáñez (born 20 November 1934 in Valencia) is a Spanish singer and musician. He never composed his own lyrics, but used famous poems, like those of Federico García Lorca, Luis Cernuda, Rafael Alberti or Miguel Hernández. He a ...

and

Los Suaves Los Suaves is a Spanish hard rock band from Ourense, Galicia (Spain), Galicia. The band was founded in the 1980s by the Domínguez brothers: Charly, bassist and Yosi Domínguez, vocalist. The chance to record their first album, ''Esta vida me va ...

, among others), he joins the love for both women. In 1993, in the ''Elegies to Julia Gay'', he united all his mother-themed poems. He also deals with his feelings toward his mother in his later books ''The return'' (1955) and ''End of a goodbye'' (1984). He started studying

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

in the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

, and ended his studies in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. He was a member of the so-called "Generation of the 50s", along with writers such as Ángel González,

José Manuel Caballero José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, José Ángel Valente and

Jaime Gil de Biedma Jaime Gil de Biedma y Alba (13 November 1929 – 8 January 1990) was a Spanish post-Civil War poet. He was born in Nava de la Asunción on 13 November 1929. He stopped writing poetry some ten years before his death. He insisted that the charact ...

. They shared a moral or politic commitment and a renewed attention to the lyrics and the language. In the 1960s and 1970s he was a key contributor to the development of

Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA) is a architecture firm that was founded in 1963 by Ricardo Bofill, initially as Taller de Arquitectura ("Architecture Workshop" in Spanish). It is headquartered in Sant Just Desvern near Barcelona, in ...

as a multidisciplinary endeavor. From that experience he drew a collection of poems named ''Taller de Arquitectura'', published in 1976. According to

Manuel Vázquez Montalbán Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (14 June 1939–18 October 2003) was a prolific Spanish writer from Catalonia: journalist, novelist, poet, essayist, anthologue, prologist, humorist, critic and political prisoner as well as a gastronome and a FC ...

, Goytisolo's poetry was not just an ideological substitute for the

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

, but aspired to build a new

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

Works

*''El retorno'' 1955 *''Salmos al viento'' 1956 *''Claridad'' 1959 *''Años decisivos'' 1961 *''Algo sucede'' 1968 *''Bajo tolerancia'' 1973 *''Taller de Arquitectura'' 1976 *''Del tiempo y del olvido'' 1977 *''Palabras para Julia'' 1979 *''Los pasos del cazador'' 1980 *''A veces gran amor'' 1981 *''Sobre las circunstancias'' 1983 *''Final de un adiós'' 1984 *''Como los trenes de la noche'' 1994 *''Cuadernos de El Escorial'' 1995 *''Elegías a Julia Gay'' 1993

Anthologies

* Poetas catalanes contemporáneos 1968 * Poesía cubana de la Revolución 1970 * Antología de

José Lezama Lima José María Andrés Fernando Lezama Lima (December 19, 1910 – August 9, 1976) was a Cuban writer, poet and essayist. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Cuban and Latin American literature. His novel ''Paradiso'' is one of ...

* Antología de

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

* ''Los poemas son mi orgullo'', poetic anthology. Edition by

Carme Riera Carme Riera Guilera (; born 12 January 1948) is a novelist and essayist. She has also written short stories, scripts for radio and television and literary criticism. She holds a doctorate in Hispanic Philology and is a professor of Spanish liter ...

(Lumen publishing, 2003)

Translations

He was involved in important translations from Italian and Catalan to Spanish. He translated, among others, works by

Cesare Pavese Cesare Pavese ( , ; 9 September 1908 – 27 August 1950) was an Italian novelist, poet, short story writer, translator, literary critic, and essayist. He is often referred to as one of the most influential Italian writers of his time. Early li ...

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

Salvador Espriu Salvador Espriu i Castelló (; 10 July 1913 – 22 February 1985) was a Catalan poet. Biography Espriu was born in Santa Coloma de Farners, Catalonia, Spain. He was the son of an attorney. He spent his childhood between his home town, Barcelon ...

and

Pere Quart Pere may refer to: *Pere, Hungary, a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county * Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere (1937–2020), Māori New Zealand educationalist and spiritual leader * Wi Pere (1837–1915), a Māori Member of Parliament ...

Prizes

Premio Adonais The and its twin the are sedans sold in Japan from 2001 to 2021 by Toyota. The sedans are designated as a compact car by Japanese dimension regulations and the exterior dimensions do not change with periodic updates. Unlike Toyota's other v ...

(1954) * Premio Boscán (1956) * Premio Ausias March (1959)

References

Sources

José Agustín Goytisolo legacy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goytisolo, Jose Agustin 1928 births 1999 suicides Writers from Barcelona Spanish translators Translators from Spanish Italian–Spanish translators Translators to Catalan 20th-century translators 20th-century Spanish poets 20th-century Spanish male writers Spanish male poets Suicides by jumping in Spain