Leopoldo Panero was Spanish poet, born in Astorga in 1909 and deceased in 1962. He was the father of the poets

Leopoldo María Panero Leopoldo María Panero (16 June 1948 – 5 March 2014) was a Spanish poet and member of the Novísimos group. His work is included in many works of literary history, anthologies, and academic programs across Spain. Much of his work is considered ...

and

Juan Luis Panero Juan Luis Panero (9 September 1942 – 16 September 2013) was a Spanish poet, born in Madrid. The son of Leopoldo Panero, nephew of Juan Panero and brother of Leopoldo María Panero, he was born into a well-off family, receiving his educatio ...

and the brother of the early-died poet Juan Panero.

Biography

Panero spent his childhood in Astorga. He did secondary schooling in San Sebastián and León, studied law in the

University of Valladolid The University of Valladolid is a public university located in the city of Valladolid, Valladolid province, autonomous region of Castile and Leon, Spain. Established in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The un ...

, and completed his legal 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 ...

. His first verses of poetry became known in a journal called ''Nueva Revista'' in Madrid, which he founded and where he published his works ''Crónica cuando amanece'' (1929) and ''Poema de la niebla'' (1930). In the fall of 1929 he fell ill of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and spent eight months recovering in Guadarrama. There he fell in love with a fellow patient, Joaquina Márquez, who died in the following months, who he referred to in one of his poems. He continued his studies in

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(1932 to 1934) and in Tours and Poitiers (1935), and he grew to love English and French literature. He also published some of his works in ''Caballo Verde para la poesía'', a journal directed by

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Panero was arrested, taken to San Marcos de León, and accused of collecting funds for the

International Red Aid International Red Aid (also commonly known by its Russian acronym MOPR ( ru , МОПР, for: ''Междунаро́дная организа́ция по́мощи борца́м револю́ции'' - Mezhdunarodnaya organizatsiya pomoshchi bor ...

; but through the mediation of his mother, along with

Miguel de Unamuno Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (29 September 1864 – 31 December 1936) was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, professor of Greek and Classics, and later rector at the University of Salamanca. His major philosophical essay w ...

and

Carmen Polo María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, 1st Lady of Meirás, Grandee of Spain (11 June 1900 – 6 February 1988) was the wife of the dictator, General and "''caudillo"'' Francisco Franco and is considered the most influential woman in Franco ...

, the wife 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 ...

- Panero's mother's cousin-, he was able to avoid legal penalties and returned to Astorga in November. In 1937, his brother Juan, who was also a poet, died in a car accident. Following this incident, which had a profound impact on Panero, he began to shift more toward conservatism. Panero wrote ''Adolescente en Sombra'' (1938) about the incident and in memory of his brother.http://www.elnortedecastilla.es/20080402/opinion/juan-panero-vuelve-sombra-20080402.html Elnortedecastilla.es, Juan Panero Vuelve Sombra (In Spanish) In 1941, Panero married Felicidad Blanc, who was also a writer. They had three children together: Juan Luis (1942-2013) and Leopoldo María (1948-2014), who also became poets, and José Moisés "Michi" (1951-2004). During the war, Panero joined the Falange Española de las JONS (Spanish Phalanx of the Councils of the National-Syndicalist Offensive), and was later named cultural attaché to the Spanish embassy (1939), and director of the Spanish Institute in London (1945-1947). There he met and associated with some of the greatly regarded outcasts from the war, such as

Luis Cernuda Luis Cernuda Bidón (September 21, 1902 – November 5, 1963) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. During the Spanish Civil War, in early 1938, he went to the UK to deliver some lectures and this became the start of an exile t ...

and Esteban Salazar Chapela.

Selected bibliography

* ''La estancia vacía'' (Empty existence) 1944 * ''Escrito a cada instante'' (Written/Writing to every instant) * ''Canto personal'' (Personal song) 1953. In answer to

's "Canto General" (General Song) * ''Poesía'' (Poetry) 1963 * ''Obras completas'' (Complete works) 1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panero, Leopoldo 1909 births 1962 deaths People from Astorga, Spain Spanish fascists Falangists Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Writers from Castile and León 20th-century Spanish poets 20th-century Spanish male writers