Luis García Montero is a Spanish poet, literary critic and academic. He is a professor of Spanish Literature at the

University of Granada The University of Granada (, UGR) is a public university located in the city of Granada, Spain, and founded in 1531 by Emperor Charles V. With more than 60,000 students, it is the fourth largest university in Spain. Apart from the city of Granad ...

Early life and education

Descended from a '' granadina'' family that was very active in the community, Luis García Montero was born in Granada, the son of Luis García López and Elisa Montero Peña. He studied at the Colegio Dulce Nombre de María - PP. Escolapios in Granada. As a teenager, he met Spanish poet Blas de Otero. He was a fan of

equestrian sports Equestrian sports are sports that use horses as a main part of the sport. This usually takes the form of the rider being on the horse's back, or the horses pulling some sort of horse-drawn vehicle. General * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

. García Montero studied philosophy and literature at the

, where he was a student of Juan Carlos Rodríguez Gómez, a social literature theorist. He received his masters in 1980 and a doctorate in 1985, with a thesis about Rafael Alberti, "La norma y los estilos en la poesía de Rafael Alberti" ("The norm and styles of Rafael Alberti's poetry"). He maintained a great friendship with Alberti, a poet of the

Generation of '27 The Generation of '27 () was an influential group of poets that arose in Spain, Spanish literary circles between 1923 and 1927, essentially out of a shared desire to experience and work with avant-garde forms of art and poetry. Their first form ...

, and prepared a compilation of all his works of poetry.

Career

García Montero began to work as an associate professor at the University of Granada in 1981. He received the

Premio Adonáis de Poesía The Premio Adonáis, or Adonais Prize for Poetry, is awarded annually in Spain by Ediciones RIALP to an unpublished Spanish language poem. Runners-up are also recognized. Named after the collection of the same name, the Adonais Prize was created ...

in 1982 for ''El jardín extranjero''. He created a memoir of his studies in 1984, ''El teatro medieval. Polémica de una inexistencia'' (''Medieval theatre. Controversy of an inexistence''). He became linked to the poetic group La Otra Setimentalidad ("The Other Sentimentality"). The group's first book of contemporary Spanish poetry, published in 1983, used this name. Poets Javier Egea and Álvaro Salvador were also members. The poetics of the group was reflected in this short book, and in lesser part in the

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

''Manifiesto albertista'' (1982) by García Montero and Egea. Their personal trajectory began widening in what would later become known as ''poesía de la experiencia'' ("poetry of experience") and is characterized by the general tendency to dillude the most personal ''I'' in the collective experience, furthering itself from the stylistic and thematic individuality of previous Novísimos authors. García Montero and his group, however, tried to relate themselves with the previous poetic tradition taking in the postulates Luis Cernuda and

Jaime Gil de Biedma Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and ...

and tried to unite the aesthetics 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 ...

with the thinking of the Generation of the '50s, as well as with

Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

and the impactful images of Spanish

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

poets or those of Juan Ramón Jiménez. García Montero's most distinguishable characteristic is the history-biographical narrativism of his poems; a structure almost theatrical or novelistic, with a character or protagonist that tells or lives his story through recollection, memory or desire. His poetry is characterized by a colloquial language and by his reflections regarding everyday events or situations. He has edited ''Rimas'' (''Rhymes'') by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, among other theoretical works. He has also cultivated the art of essay writing and is an opinion columnist. Between the award-winning poetics that he's received, the most impressive have been the Premio Federico García Lorca, the Premio Loewe, the Premio Adonáis of poetry and the National Poetry Award – which he was presented with in 1995 – and the Premio Nacional de la Crítica in 2003. In 2010 he was awarded in Mexico the Premio Poetas del Mundo Latino for his literary career.

Political activities

From a young age he was an active member in the PCE and, since its foundation, in the United Left. In the

2004 European Parliament election The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but elect ...

he was a United Left candidate. Prior to the

2011 Spanish general election A General elections in Spain, general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 20 November 2011, to elect the members of the 10th . All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate of Spain, ...

he declared his support for United Left. In October 2012 it was announced that he would take on a key role in Izquierda Abierta, a new party led by Gaspar Llamazares and Montse Muñoz that was part of the United Left coalition. García Montero ran first in the United Left Community of Madrid/ The Greens list for the 2015 regional election in the Community of Madrid, failing to obtain a seat.

Awards

, for ''El jardín extranjero'' (1982) * Premio Loewe, for ''Habitaciones separadas'' (1994) * National Poetry Award (Spain), for ''Habitaciones separadas'' (1995) * Premio Nacional de la Crítica (Spain), for ''La intimidad de la serpiente'' (2003) * Premio Poetas Mundo del Latino (Mexico), for his career (2010)

Personal life

Since 1994 he has shared his life with writer

Almudena Grandes María de la Almudena Grandes Hernández (7 May 1960 – 27 November 2021) was a Spanish writer. Author of 14 novels and three short-story collections, her work has been translated into twenty languages and frequently adapted to film. She won t ...

Controversies

On 22 October 2008 García Montero was condemned for an injuries case against José Antonio Fortes, professor at the University of Granada. The poet in an article published in ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' called Fortes "disturbing" for claiming that Lorcan poetry had been served as an ideological breeding ground for fascist poetry. In other writings, Fortes had attacked Francisco Ayala, Antonio Muñoz Molina,

Joaquín Sabina Joaquín Ramón Martínez Sabina (born 12 February 1949) is a Spanish musician, singer, composer, and poet. His songs usually treat love, heartbreaks and society with significant use of literary figures as in the baroque-literature style. He ha ...

, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and Rafael Alberti, as fascist writers or capitalism sellers. Judge Miguel Ángel Torres sentenced García Montero to pay a fine of €1,800 as well as another €3,000 to Fortes for serious publicity injuries. The poet referred to Fortes as an "indecent fool", and "disturbed", and in a meeting with other members of the department he referred to him by derogatory names. Although he thanked the many institutional and personal solidarity displays, García Montero announced a short time afterward a request for a leave of absence from the lecturer post that he had at the University of Granada, which he entered as a professor in 1981. He left a year later because he said he found the university department environment "unbreathable". Another controversy, about the Ciudad de Burgos Poetry Prize (2012), was reported in several Spanish newspapers.

Selected works

Poetry

*''Y ahora ya eres dueño del Puente de Brooklyn'', Granada, University (Zumaya collection), 1980, Premio Federico García Lorca. *''Tristia'', in collaboration with Álvaro Salvador, Melilla, Rusadir, 1982. *''El jardín extranjero'', Madrid, Rialp, ( Premio Adonáis), 1983 (''... Poemas de Tristia'', Madrid, Hiperión, 1989). *''Rimado de ciudad'', Granada town hall, 1983. *''Égloga de dos rascacielos'', Granada, Romper el Cerco, 1984 (2ª ed. Madrid, Hiperión, 1989). *''En pie de paz'', Granada, Editions of the Committee of Solitarity with Central America, 1985. *''Seis poemas del mar (autógrafos)'', iotinto? Pliegos de Mineral, 1985. *''Diario cómplice'', Madrid, Hiperión, 1987. *''Anuncios por palabras'', Málaga, Plaza de la Marina, 1988. *''Secreto de amistad'', Málaga, I. B. Sierra Bermeja, 1990. *''Las flores del frío'', Madrid, Hiperión, 1990. *''En otra edad'', Málaga, Librería Anticuaria El Guadalhorce, 1992. *''Fotografías veladas de la lluvia'', Valladolid, El Gato Gris, 1993. *''Habitaciones separadas'', Madrid, Visor, 1994: (Premio Loewe y Premio Nacional de Literatura) *''Además'', Madrid, Hiperión, 1994. *''Quedarse sin ciudad'', Palma de Mallorca, Monograma, 1994. *''Casi cien poemas (1980-1996): antología'', prologue by José Carlos Mainer, Madrid, Hiperión, 1997. *''Completamente viernes'', Barcelona, Tusquets, 1998. *''Antología personal'', Madrid, Visor, 2001. *''Poemas'', Santander, Ultramar, 2001. *''Antología poética'', Madrid, Castalia, 2002. *''Poesía urbana (antología 1980-2002)''; study and selections by Laura Scarano, Sevilla, Renacimiento, 2002. *''La intimidad de la serpiente'', Barcelona, Tusquets, 2003, Premio Nacional de la Crítica 2003. *''Poesía (1980-2005)''; ocho libros ordenados y reunidos, Barcelona, Tusquets, 2006. *''Infancia''; Málaga, Castillian collection from English, 2006. *''Vista cansada'', Madrid, Visor, 2008 *''Canciones,'' edition by Juan Carlos Abril, Valencia, Pre-Textos, 2009 *''Un invierno propio'', Madrid, Visor, 2011 *''Ropa de calle'', Madrid, Cátedra, 2011

Essays and article collections

*''La otra sentimentalidad'', together with Javier Egea and Álvaro Salvador, Granada, Don Quijote, 1983. *''La norma y los estilos en la poesía de Rafael Alberti'' (1920-1939), Granada, Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Granada, 1986. *''Poesía, cuartel de invierno'', Madrid Hiperión, 1988 (2nd ed. Barcelona, Seix-Barral, 2002). *''Confesiones poéticas'', Granada, Diputación Provincial, 1993. *''La palabra de Ícaro (literary studies about García Lorca and Alberti)'', Granada, Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Granada, 1996. *''Lecciones de poesía para niños inquietos'' (Illustrations by Juan Vida), Granada, Editorial Comares, 1999: The book is aimed directly toward young readers and intends to show them what poetry consists of. *''El sexto día : historia íntima de la poesía española'', Madrid, Debate, 2000. *''Gigante y extraño : las "Rimas" de Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer'', Barcelona, Tusquets, 2001. *''Los dueños del vacío. La conciencia poética, entre la identidad y los vínculos'', Barcelona, Tusquets, 2006. *''Inquietudes bárbaras'', Barcelona, Anagrama, 2008.

Novels

* In 2009 he published his first novel, ''Mañana no será lo que Dios quiera'', about the life of the poet Ángel González, who died in 2008. For this book he received the Premio del Gremio de Libreros al Mejor libro of 2009. * In 2012 he published his second novel ''No me cuentes tu vida'' (''Don't tell me your life''), in which he reflects throughout three generations about the recent history of Spain.

Other books

He also published a book of narrative mistakes about his infancy (''Luna del sur'', Sevilla: Renacimiento, 1992), a novel together with Felipe Benítez Reyes (''Impares, fila 13'', Barcelona: Planeta, 1996) and the children's book ''La mudanza de Adán'' (''Adam's moving'') (Madrid: Anaya, 2002). His short story ''Dedicatoria'' was included in the book.''Las musas de Rorschach''
/ref> (Logroño: Editorial Buscarini, 2008). *''El romántico ilustrado. Images by Luis García Montero'', Juan Carlos Abril and Xelo Candel Vila Edition, Sevilla, Renacimiento, 2009.

References

External links

*
Contributor: Luis García Montero
on WordsWithoutBorders.org (archived 2022)
Luis García Montero
in the

Instituto Cervantes Instituto Cervantes (, the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the most important fi ...

Virtual Library
Poetic Anthonlogy
in ''A media voz''

in ''SiFuesePoeta''
Biography
in ''El poder de la palabra''
Poems by Luis García Montero in regards to poetic creationOverview of the work "Los dueños del vacío" by Luis García Montero

Interviews and documentaries about Luis García Montero

Interview in Espacio de Libros
October 2012.
Radio interview in the Programa Señales de Humo
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160306021553/http://blogs.larioja.com/ciudaddelhombre/2008/6/25/entrevista-luis-garcia-montero/ Interview in Diario La Rioja: "No me gustaría dejar de escribir a los 50"*
Luis García Montero, documentary and interview of the thesis program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Montero, Luis Year of birth missing (living people) University of Granada alumni 20th-century Spanish poets People from Granada Living people Spanish male poets 21st-century Spanish poets 20th-century Spanish male writers 21st-century Spanish male writers