Aurora de Albornoz (January 22, 1926 – June 6, 1990) was born in

Luarca Luarca (Ḷḷuarca in Asturian language, Asturian and coofficially) is a parish and the principal town in the Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Valdés, Asturias, Valdés in Asturias, Spain. Luarca (town) is a fishing and pleasure port. L ...

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. As a youth, she lived in Luarca with her parents, sister, and extended family, throughout the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

from 1936 to 1939— an event that inspired her later poetry.

Early life

Her family was a noted family of poets and politicians. Her grandfather and father were well known local poets. Her father’s uncle, Álvaro de Albornoz y Liminiana, was the minister of the Department of Justice of the Republican government of Spain until the Civil War. Eventually, he became the president of the Republican government of Spain in exile in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

that was superseded by Franco's dictatorship. Concha de Albornoz, Albornoz y Liminiana's daughter, was a scholar and teacher considered as at the forefront of the modern Spanish feminist literary movement. In 1959, her uncle, Severo Ochoa de Albornoz (who had fled Spain on a Republican passport) while living and working in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, was awarded a

Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single ...

with Arthur Kornberg for deciphering

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. Her family had been involved in business in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

since the 1890s. In 1944, 18 years old de Albornoz moved with the de Albornoz household to

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

. There she began her formal academic education which led to an MA from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

. At that time, she was studying under the tutelage of the Andalucian

Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

, Juan Ramón Jiménez. In August 1950, de Albornoz married Jorge Enjuto Bernal, from

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, in Puerto Rico. Like de Albornoz, Enjuto Bernal was from a Republican family living outside Spain. His father, Federico Enjuto Ferrán, was the Republican magistrate of justice who was involved in the trial of General

José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella GE (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish fascist politician who founded the Falan ...

, the founder of the Falange, the

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

party in Spain. After living together in Puerto Rico and for a short time in

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and

, the marriage was dissolved in 1967.

Career

Also at this time she began teaching. In 1955, she was awarded a scholarship to study comparative literature at the Sorbonne in Paris. From 1955 to 1957, de Albornoz returned to Europe to continue her studies in Paris with José Bergamín, a celebrated Spanish poet and critic living in exile. She then proceeded to Spain, to complete her doctorate at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

. De Albornoz’s scholarly work was committed almost exclusively to the ''escritores exiliados'' of Spain. Among other publications, in 1961, de Albornoz published, in Puerto Rico, ''Poesías de Guerra de Antonio Machado'' a compilation 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 ...

’s war poems which was a banned work not allowed to be published in Franco’s Spain. (Machado himself had died in exile in 1939 in Collioure, France). Upon receiving her degree in 1966, she returned to Puerto Rico to become a professor at the University of Puerto Rico. Around 1968, de Albornoz returned to Madrid where she taught at the Universidad Autónoma (Department of Humanities) and at the University of New York in Spain. Besides being a professor and poet, Albornoz was by now a celebrated scholar. She had become a critical authority on the works of

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 ...

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

, Cesar Vallejo, Rosalía de Castro,

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

and particularly Antonio Machado, Juan Ramón Jiménez, and José Hierro. As already stated, her interest naturally extended into the work of exiled Spanish poets such as José Bergamín in Paris, Rafael Alberti in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and León Felipe and Juan Rejano in

. She was a permanent member on the board of judges for the International Antonio Machado Prize awarded every year in Collioure, France. Throughout Spain—and in America, as well—de Albornoz taught many courses, participated in many congresses, colloquiums, and writers’ meetings; she collaborated toward cultural activities that dealt with scholarship and writing—such as the founding of journals, magazines, newspapers, radio programs, awards, and literary groups. De Albornoz was called upon to introduce, preside, or read with emerging Spanish voices such as Claudio Rodríguez, José Manuel Caballero Bonald, José Ramón Ripoll, Fanny Rubio, Álvaro Salvador, the Cuban scholar José Olivio Jiménez, the American scholar Shirley Mangini, Juan Macías, and Luis García Montero.

Death and legacy

On June 6, 1990, Aurora de Albornoz, at 64 years old, died in her apartment in Madrid. She was struck down by a cerebral hemorrhage while speaking on the phone with José Fernández de Albornoz, her American nephew. He along with Scott Hightower, the U.S. (Texas) poet living in Manhattan), had just visited with her. Besides a vast amount of critical work in books, anthologies, and newspapers, de Albornoz had published eleven books of poetry. She was an innovative poet who incorporated prose poems, collage, and other modernistic techniques into her work. Her style has connections to the general movement of Spanish writing toward "fantastic realism." Her work is of particular interest as she spans through the Civil War, the Generation of '50, and the following generations giving voice to the experience of the ''exiliados''––the exiles.

Bibliography

Camblor Pandiella, Begoña, ''Bibliografía selecta de / sobre Aurora de Albornoz'', in ''Palabras reunidas para Aurora de Albornoz'', Oviedo, Universidad, 2007, pp. 183–187.

Works of Aurora de Albornoz

Original works *''Brazo de niebla'', Santander, Hermanos Bedia, 1957. (1ª edición más breve, San Juan de Puerto Rico, Coayuco, 1955). *''Prosas de París'', San Juan de Puerto Rico, (s.n.), 1959. *''Poemas para alcanzar un segundo'', Madrid, Rialp, 1961. *''Por la primavera blanca. Fabulaciones'', Madrid, Ínsula, 1962 (reedición Granada, Traspiés, 2005, con prólogo de Concepción González-Badía Fraga). *''Poemas'' (Verso y prosa), Cuadernos hispanoamericanos, 189 (septiembre 1965), pp. 283–290. *''En busca de esos niños en hilera'', Santander, La isla de los ratones, 1967. *''Palabras desatadas'', Málaga, Guadalhorce, 1975. *''Palabras reunidas'' (1967-1977), Madrid, Ayuso, 1983. *''Aventura'', Turia, 12 (1989), pp. 39–41. *''Canciones de Guiomar'', Madrid, Torremozas, 1990. *''Al sur del sur''. Poemas, Cádiz, Ayuntamiento de San Roque, 1991. *''Cronilíricas''. Collage, Madrid, Devenir, 1991. *''Pequeños poemas en prosa'' (inéd.). Critical works 1) Studies *''La prehistoria de Antonio Machado'', Puerto Rico, Universidad, 1961. *''Poesías de guerra de Antonio Machado'', San Juan, Asomante, 1961. *''La presencia de Miguel de Unamuno en Antonio Machado'', Madrid, Gredos, 1967. *"Poesía de la España peregrina. Crónica incompleta", in ''El exilio español de 1939'', vol. IV, Madrid, Taurus, 1977, pp. 11–108. *''Hacia la realidad creada'', Barcelona, Península, 1979. [Includes: "Unos años de historia y literatura. Un libro de Alfonso Sastre", "de la España peregrina. Un libro de Lorenzo Varela", "La mirada de Juan Rejano", "Aproximación a la obra poética de José Hierro", "José Manuel Caballero Bonald: la palabra como alucinógeno", "Antonio Machado: De mi cartera, teoría y creación", "El "collage-anuncio" en Juan Ramón Jiménez", "En torno a un "nuevo libro" de Juan Ramón Jiménez", "La íntima lógica de César Vallejo (Trilce, LVIII)" and "Por los caminos de Rafael Alberti"] José Hierro, Madrid, Júcar, 1982. *"Presencias de Antonio Machado en la España peregrina", ''Actas del Congreso Internacional "Antonio Machado hacia Europa"'', Madrid, Visor, 1993, pp. 233–241. 2) Prologues and editions *"Prólogo", in Alfonso Sastre, ''Las noches lúgubres'', Madrid, Júcar, 1973. *Jiménez, Juan Ramón, ''Nueva antolojía, estudio preliminar y selección de Aurora de Albornoz'', Barcelona, Península, 1973. *"Un cuento de Gabriel García Márquez: El ahogado más hermoso del mundo", en ''VVAA, El comentario de textos 2. De Galdós a García Márquez'', Madrid, Castalia, 1974, pp. 283–316. *Jiménez, Juan Ramón, En el otro costado, 1ª edición preparada y prologada por Aurora de Albornoz, Madrid, Júcar, 1974. *Machado, Antonio, ''Antología de su prosa, edición de Aurora de Albornoz'', Madrid, Cuadernos para el diálogo, 1979. *Hierro, José, ''Antología, selección e introducción de Aurora de Albornoz'', Madrid, Visor, 1980. *Neruda, Pablo, ''Poesías escogidas, prólogo de Aurora de Albornoz'', Madrid, Aguilar, 1980. *"Prólogo", en Jiménez, Juan Ramón, ''Arias tristes'', Madrid, Taurus, 1981, pp. 9–45. *Jiménez, Juan Ramón, ''Espacio, edición de Aurora de Albornoz'', Madrid, Editora Nacional, 1982. *Juan Ramón Jiménez, Madrid, Taurus, 1983. (Includes, además de una selección de artículos de autores diversos, su trabajo "El "collage-anuncio" en Juan Ramón Jiménez") *Alberti, Rafael, ''Trece bandas y cuarenta y ocho estrellas, estudio preliminar de Aurora de Albornoz'', Madrid, Espasa Calpe, 1985. 3) Editions with other people *ANDRÉS, ELENA, ''Chile en el corazón: homenaje a Pablo Neruda'', Barcelona, Península, 1975. *RODRÍGUEZ-LUIS, JULIO, ''Sensemayá: la poesía negra en el mundo hispanohablante'' (antología), Madrid, Orígenes, 1980. *TORRE, GUILLERMO DE, ''Antonio Machado. Poesía y prosa'', Buenos Aires, Cuadernos para el diálogo, 1964.

Works about de Albornoz

* ANÓNIMO, "Juan Ramón Jiménez. Nueva antolojía", ''Ínsula'', 320-321 (Jul-Aug 1973), p. 33. * CABALLERO BONALD, JOSÉ MANUEL, "Justicia de la memoria", ''La Torre'', 21 (Jan-Mar 1992), pp. 5–8. * CAMPOS, JORGE, "Balance y exposición de la poesía negra", ''Ínsula'', 409 (Dec 1980), p. 11. * CANO, JOSÉ LUIS, "Aurora de Albornoz: hacia la realidad creada", ''Ínsula'', 400-401 (Mar-April 1980), pp. 20–21. * _____, "Aurora de Albornoz: la poesía de José Hierro", ''Ínsula'', 427 (June 1982), pp. 8–9. * DÍAZ QUIÑONES, ARCADIO, "La tradición del exilio. Sobre Aurora de Albornoz", in ''La memoria rota'', San Juan de Puerto Rico, Huracán, 1993, pp. 101–107. * FERNÁNDEZ DE ALBORNOZ, JOSÉ LUIS, "Bibliografía de Aurora de Albornoz", ''La Torre'', 21 (Jan-Mar 1992), pp. 175–177. * GONZALEZ, RIGOBERTO, "Aurora de Albornoz," "Harriet" Poetry Foundation Blog Cite, posted Dec. 10, 2007. * GONZÁLEZ-BADÍA FRAGA, CONCEPCIÓN, "Desde la realidad creada. La narración fabulada en Aurora de Albornoz", in ''Aurora de Albornoz, Por la primavera blanca'', Granada, Traspiés, 2005, pp. 7–14. * GULLÓN, RICARDO, "Aurora con Puerto Rico al fondo", in ''Aurora de Albornoz, Palabras reunidas'' (1967-1977), Madrid, Ayuso, 1983, pp. 9–13. * HIERRO, JOSÉ, "Presentación", in ''Aurora de Albornoz, Canciones de Guiomar'', Madrid, Torremozas, 1990, pp. 11–14. * HIGHTOWER, SCOTT, "Tia Divina," en "My Diva" editado por Michael Montlack, Wisconsin, pp 85–90. * IFACH, MARÍA GRACIA, "Aurora de Albornoz: Por la primavera blanca", ''Ínsula'', 216-217 (Nov-Dec 1964), p. 20. * JIMÉNEZ, JOSÉ OLIVIO, "Aurora de Albornoz: crítica y bolero", ''Revista de Estudios Hispánicos'', 20 (1993), pp. 27–38. * _____, "El negrismo poético en la tradición hispánica", ''Cuadernos hispanoamericanos'', 367-368 (enero febrero 1981), pp. 381–387. * LÓPEZ-SURIA, VIOLETA, "Aroma quieto de Aurora a Joshe", ''La Torre'', 21 (Jan-Mar 1992), pp. 9–11. * LUIS, LEOPOLDO DE, "Poemas para alcanzar un segundo", ''Papeles de Son Armadans, Madrid-Palma de Mallorca'', April 1962, pp. 107–109. * MIRÓ, EMILIO, "Aurora de Albornoz: En busca de esos niños en hilera", ''Ínsula'', 257 (1968), p. 6. * _____, "La recuperación de Juan Rejano", ''Ínsula'', 395 (octubre 1979), p. 6. * _____, "Arte y vida en la poesía de Aurora de Albornoz", ''Ínsula'', 463 (junio 1985), p. 6. * PÉREZ SÁNCHEZ, JOSÉ ANTONIO, "Aurora de Albornoz (1926-1990)", ''Luarca'', Ayuntamiento de Valdés, 2007. * PRAT, IGNACIO, "Juan Ramón Jiménez: En el otro costado", ''Ínsula'', 342 (1974), p. 8. * RODRÍGUEZ PADRÓN, JUSTO, "Aurora de Albornoz: una relectura de Espacio", ''Ínsula'', 450 (mayo 1984), p. 18. * RUBIO, FANNY, "Ante Canciones de Guiomar de Aurora de Albornoz", ''La Torre'', 21 (Jan-Mar 1992), pp. 79–83. * SALVADOR, ÁLVARO, "Palabras reunidas para Aurora de Albornoz", in ''Letra pequeña'', Granada, Cuadernos del Vigía, 2003, pp. 101–106. * SÁNCHEZ TORRE, LEOPOLDO, "Aurora de Albornoz: hacia la realidad creada", ''El eco de Luarca'', 905 (julio 2000), pp. 22–23. * UGALDE, SHARON KEEFE, "The poetry of Aurora de Albornoz and Gendered Poetic Traditions", ''Letras peninsulares'', 11.2 (1998), pp. 569–583. * VILLA PASTUR, JESÚS, "Aurora de Albornoz: Poemas para alcanzar un segundo", ''Archivum'', XIII (1963), pp. 368–370. * ZAVALA, IRIS, ''La otra mirada del siglo XX. La mujer en la España contemporánea'', Madrid, La esfera de los libros, 2004, pp. 311–313 y passim.

References

External links

"Aurora de Albornoz," Rigoberto Gonzalez, "Harriet," Poetry Foundation Blog Cite, posted Dec. 10, 2007

"Palabras reunidas para Aurora de Albornoz, collected conference essays, presented Dec. 19-21, Luarca, Spain, 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albornoz, Aurora de 1926 births 1990 deaths Writers from Asturias Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery People from Valdés, Asturias Spanish women poets University of Puerto Rico alumni 20th-century Spanish women writers 20th-century Spanish poets University of Salamanca alumni Spanish emigrants to Puerto Rico Puerto Rican expatriates in France University of Paris alumni