José Manuel Caballero Bonald (November 11, 1926 – May 9, 2021) was a Spanish novelist, lecturer and poet.

Early life

Caballero was born in Calle Caballeros,

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

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. His father was Plácido Caballero, a Cuban whose mother was of

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

descent and whose father was from

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

. His mother was Julia Bonald, a descendant of Viscount Louis Gabriel Ambroise de Bonald, a traditional

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

who settled in

Andalucia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

in the middle of the 19th century.

Education

Between 1936 and 1943, Caballero Bonald studied at the Marianistas de Jerez School. During 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 ...

, he spent some time in the Sierra de Cádiz and in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. He read the first books that were to influence him:

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

Emilio Salgari Emilio Salgari (, but often erroneously ; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante A ...

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

, and José de Espronceda. Between 1944 and 1948, he undertook nautical studies in

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

, and he wrote his first poems. He made friends with members of the Cádiz magazine ''Platero'', namely Fernando Quiñones, Pilar Paz Pasamar, Felipe Sordo Lamadrid, Serafín Pro Hesles, Julio Mariscal, José Luis Tejada, Francisco Pleguezuelo and Pedro Ardoy. Caballero Bonald spent his military service in the Milicia Naval Universitaria and spent two summers sailing in the waters of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and Galicia. His military career was curtailed when he contracted a lung illness and travelled to

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

to recuperate. Between 1949 and 1952, he studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and literature in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

. He continued his studies of literature 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 ...

and worked on the First Biennial Latin-American Art Festival.

Career

Around 1954 Caballero Bonald served as Secretary and later as Deputy Editor of the ''Papeles de Son Armadans'' magazine. In 1959 he began to make friends with and collaborate with poets who would later make up the ''Generation of 1950''. This group of literary figures were united in their political opposition to the dictatorship of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

. In February 1959 in Collioure (France), he attended the 20th anniversary of the death of

Antonio Machado Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz (26 July 1875 – 22 February 1939), known as Antonio Machado, was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the Generation ...

, along with Blas de Otero, José Agustín Goytisolo, Ángel González, José Ángel Valente,

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 ...

, Alfonso Costafreda and

Carlos Barral Carlos Barral i Agesta (1928–1989) was a Spanish poet, considered (along with Jaime Gil de Biedma) to be one of the greatest poets of the so-called generation of the 1950s. He helped to establish the Formentor Group and their literary awards t ...

. He moved to

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, where he taught

Spanish literature Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wit ...

and

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

at the

Universidad Nacional de Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, Ces ...

. There he started his friendship with the Colombian group of the ''Mito'' magazine (composed of Jorge Gaitán Durán,

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

Eduardo Cote Lamus Eduardo Francisco Cote Lamus (16 August 1928 – 3 August 1964) was a Colombian lawyer, poet and politician. Personal life Colombian poet and politician born on 16 August 1928 in Cúcuta, North Santander; the youngest of three. His parents we ...

, Hernando Valencia Goelkel, Pedro Gómez Valderrama and Fernando Charry Lara, among others). In 1963 he was arrested and fined for political reasons. He returned to Spain and took up several publishing posts. Between 1965 and 1968 he spent time in Cuba and became part of an organization aimed at paying homage to

in Baeza in 1966, which was finally prohibited by government order. He published the ''Narrativa Cubana de la Revolución'' (Cuban Narrative of the Revolution) in 1968, and was again arrested for political reasons, and imprisoned for one month in

Carabanchel Carabanchel is a district of Madrid, Spain. It lies on the southern (right) bank of the Manzanares, spanning southward down to the M-40 ring road. The district is made up of the neighbourhoods of Abrantes, Comillas, Opañel, Puerta Bonita, San ...

jail. In 1971 he began working for the Lexicography Seminar of the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

, where he stayed until 1975. In 1973 he also started working as literary editor for Júcar Publications, a position which he also occupied until 1975. He gave courses on narrative in several European universities and attended literary symposia. He worked as a Contemporary Spanish Literature Professor at the Centre for Hispanic Studies at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

from 1974 to 1978. That year he was appointed President of the PEN Club Español (from which he resigned in 1980). In

, the National Drama Center performed his version of ''Abre el Ojo'' (Open Your Eye), by Rojas Zorrilla. Between 1985 and 1988 he once again spent some time in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1989 a high school bearing his name was inaugurated in Jerez. A public library bearing his name was inaugurated in Marbella in 1992. In 1993 he was appointed corresponding member of the North American Spanish Language Academy. The National Classic Theatre Company performed his version of ''Don Gil de las Calzas Verdes'' (Sir Gil of the Green Stockings) by

Tirso de Molina Gabriel Téllez ( 24 March 1583 20 February 1648), better known as Tirso de Molina, was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and Roman Catholic monk. He is primarily known for writing ''The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest'', the play from ...

. The Sanlúcar de Barrameda Town Council named a street after him. In 1997 the Antonio Gades Company performed his ballet adaptation of Fuenteovejuna. The Jerez City Council created the Caballero Bonald Foundation. He was awarded the title of Favourite Son of Andalucía. In 1999 he was awarded the title of Favourite Son of the Province of Cadiz. He received the Golden Medal of the Fine Arts Circle and the Julián Besteiro Award for Arts and Literature. In 2004 he was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Cádiz. He also won the Queen Sofía Latin American Poetry Award. In 2012, he was awarded the

Miguel de Cervantes Prize The Miguel de Cervantes Prize ( es, Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes) is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. History The prize was established in 1975 ...

for his achievements in Spanish literature. His birthplace in calle Caballeros in Jerez is now the site of his Foundation. He died on May 9, 2021 at the age of 94 in Madrid after a long illness.

Bibliography

*''Mendigo'' (Beggar) (1950) *''Las Adivinaciones'' (The Prophecies) *''Memorias de Poco Tiempo'' (Memories of a Little While) (1954) *''Anteo'' (1956) *''Las Horas Muertas'' (The Dead Hours) (1959) *''El Papel del Coro'' (The Choir's Role) (1961) *''Dos Días de Setiembre'' (Two September Days) *''Pliegos de Cordel'' (Sheets of String) (1963) *''Narrativa Cubana de la Revolución'' (Cuban Narrative of the Revolution) (1968) *''Vivir para Contarlo'' (Live to Tell It) (1969) *''Archivo del Cante Flamenco'' (File of a Flamenco Singer) (1969) *''Ágata Ojo de Gato'' (Agatha Cat's Eyes) (1974) *''Luces y Sombras del Flamenco'' (Lights and Shades of Flamenco) (1975) *''Descrédito del Héroe'' (The Discrediting of a Hero) (1977) *''Poesía, 1951-1977'' (1977) *''Breviario del Vino'' (Wine Breviary) (1980) *''Toda la Noche Oyeron pasar Pájaros'' (They Heard Birds Passing By All Night) (1981) *Anthology of Góngora's poems (1982) *''Selección Natural'' (Natural Selection) (1983) *''Laberinto de Fortuna'' (Maze of Fortune) (1983) *''Los Personajes de Fajardo'' (The Fajardo Characters) (1986) *''De la Sierra al Mar de Cádiz'' (From the Mountain Range to the Cadiz Sea) (1988) *''En La Casa del Padre'' (In the Father's House) (1988) *''Doble Vida'' (Double Life) (1989) *''Andalucía'' (1989) *''Sevilla en Tiempos de Cervantes'' (Seville at the Time of Cervantes) (1992) *''Campo de Agramante'' (The Agramante Field) (1993) *''Tiempo de Guerras Perdidas'' (Time of Lost Wars) (1995) *''El Imposible Oficio de Escribir'' (The Impossible Profession of Writing) (1997) *''Diario de Argónida'' (1997) *''Poesía Amatoria'' (1999) *''Copias del Natural'' (Copies of the Natural) (1999) *''La Costumbre de Vivir'' (The Custom of Living) (2001) *''Mar Adentro'' (The Sea Inside) (2002) *A study on José de Espronceda (2002) *250 programs of the documentary series ''Andalucía de Cine'' (2003) directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón and produced by Juan Lebrón, for the Andalusian Radio and Television. *''Somos el Tiempo que nos Queda'' (We are the Time We Have Left) (complete works, 2004)

Acclaim

*Platero Poetry Award - ''Mendigo'' (1950) * Adonais Prize for Poetry (runner-up) - ''Las Adivinaciones'' (1951) *Boscán Award - ''Las Horas Muertas'' (1959) * Critics' Prize - ''Las Horas Muertas'' (1959) *

Premio Biblioteca Breve The Premio Biblioteca Breve is a literary award given annually by the publisher Seix Barral (now part of Grupo Planeta) to an unpublished novel in the Spanish language. Its prize is €30,000 and publication of the winning work. It is delivered in ...

- ''Dos Días de Setiembre'' (1961) *National Album Award - ''Archivo del Cante Flamenco'' (1969) *Barral Award (rejected) - ''Ágata Ojo de Gato'' (1975) *Critics' Prize - ''Ágata Ojo de Gato'' (1975) *'Pablo Iglesias' Literatura Award - ''Poesía, 1951-1977'' (1977) *Critics' Prize - ''Descrédito del Héroe'' (1978) *Ateneo de Sevilla Prize - ''Toda la Noche Oyeron pasar Pájaros'' (1981) *Plaza y Janés Award - ''En La Casa del Padre'' (1988) *Andalucía Literature Award - ''Campo de Agramante'' (1993) *Queen Sofia Award for Latin American Poetry (2004) * Spanish Literature National Prize (2005) *''

'' (2012) - lifelong achievement in Spanish literature.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caballero Bonald, Jose Manuel 1926 births 2021 deaths Writers from Andalusia Spanish poets Spanish people of Cuban descent Spanish people of French descent Spanish male poets People from Jerez de la Frontera Premio Cervantes winners