José María Pemán y Pemartín (8 May 1897 in Cadiz – 19 July 1981, Ibid.) was a Spanish journalist, poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, and

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalis ...

intellectual.

Biography

Originally a student of law, he entered the literary world with a series of poetic works inspired by his native

Andalusia 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 ...

(''De la vida sencilla'', ''A la rueda, rueda'', ''El barrio de Santa Cruz'', and ''Las flores del bien''). In the 1930s he became a journalist. In 1935 he joined the Real Academia de la Lengua, of which he was the director from 1939 to 1940 and 1944 to 1947. Pemán often blurred literary genres, and developed a unique style that may be described as equidistant between

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthet ...

and

modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

, not unfamiliar to readers of '' ABC'' and '' El Alcázar''. As a dramatist, he wrote historical-religious verse (''El divino impaciente'' and ''Cuando las Cortes de Cádiz y Cisneros''), plays based on Andalusian themes (''Noche de levante en calma''), and comical costume dramas ('' Julieta y Romeo'' and ''El viento sobre la tierra''). Pemán adapted many classical works (including ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., ...

'', ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', and '' Oedipus''). He displayed his narrative skill in a series of novels and short stories (including ''Historia del fantasma y doña Juanita'', ''Cuentos sin importancia'', and ''La novela de San Martín''). He was also a noted

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

ist. In 1955 he received the Mariano de Cavia prize for journalism. In 1957, he won the ''March de Literatura'' prize. He was the personal advisor to the Count of Barcelona from 1969 until the title's dissolution. In 1981, a few months before his death he was named Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Pemán was one of the few prominent intellectuals to support Francisco Franco and the Falangist movement. This ensured his professional success during and after 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 polici ...

, but damaged his international reputation. Pemán wrote a set of unofficial, popular lyrics for the ''

Marcha Real The (; "Royal March") is the national anthem of Spain. It is one of only four national anthems in the world – along with those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, San Marino and Kosovo – that have no official lyrics. Although it had lyrics in t ...

'', which Franco had reinstated as Spain's

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

in 1939 in its original form as a purely instrumental piece, despite some popular misapprehensions concerning the official status of Eduardo Marquina's lyrics. Despite never being published in the BOE (Official State Bulletin), Pemán's lyrics continued in use during the Transition period by a few who remained nostalgic for the Franco era.

Selected filmography

* '' Romeo and Juliet'' (1940) * '' Lola Montes'' (1944) * ''

Madness for Love ''Madness for Love'' ( es, Locura de amor, links=no) is a 1948 Spanish historical drama film directed by Juan de Orduña.Mira p.211 The movie is based on the play '' The Madness of Love'' written in 1855 by Manuel Tamayo y Baus around the figure ...

'' (1948) * '' The Duchess of Benameji'' (1949) * '' The Captain from Loyola'' (1949) * '' Congress in Seville'' (1955)

External links

Arakis ISP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peman, Jose Maria 1897 births 1981 deaths People from Cádiz Spanish Patriotic Union politicians Renovación Española politicians Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Members of the Cortes Españolas Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Spanish essayists Spanish male novelists Writers from Andalusia Acción Española Spanish male poets Spanish male short story writers Spanish short story writers 20th-century Spanish poets 20th-century male writers 20th-century Spanish novelists Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Knights of the Golden Fleece Spanish nationalists 20th-century essayists 20th-century Spanish journalists