Juan Ramón Jiménez
Encyclopedia
Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón (24 December 1881 – 29 May 1958) was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature
in 1956. One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the French concept of "pure poetry."
, in Andalucia, on 24 December 1881. He studied law at the University of Seville
, but he declined to put this training to use. He published his first two books at the age of eighteen, in 1900. The death of his father the same year devastated him, and a resulting depression led to his being sent first to France, where he had an affair with his doctor's wife, and then to a sanatorium in Madrid staffed by novitiate nuns, where he lived from 1901 to 1903. In 1911 and 1912, he wrote many erotic poems depicting romps with numerous females in numerous locales. Some of them alluded to sex with novitiates who were nurses. Eventually, apparently, their mother superior discovered the activity and expelled him, although it will probably never be known for certain whether the depictions of sex with novitiates were truth or fantasy.
The main subjects of many of his other poems were music and color, which, at times, he compared to love or lust.
He celebrated his home region in his prose poem about a writer and his donkey called Platero y Yo (1914). In 1916 he and Zenobia got married in the United States. Zenobia became his indispensable companion and collaborator.
Upon the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
, he and Zenobia went into exile in Cuba
, the United States
, and Puerto Rico
, where he settled in 1946. Jiménez was hospitalized for eight months due to another deep depression. He later became a Professor of Spanish Language and Literature at the University of Maryland, College Park. The university later named a building on campus and a living-and-learning writing program in his honor. He was also a professor at the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, Florida. While living in Coral Gables he wrote: "Romances de Coral Gables".
In 1956, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature
; three days later, his wife died of ovarian cancer. Jiménez never got over this loss, and he died two years afterwards, on 29 May 1958, in the same clinic where his wife had died. Both of them are buried in Spain
.
's Riders to the Sea (1920). His poetic output during his life was immense. Among his better known works are Sonetos espirituales 1914–1916 (1916; “Spiritual Sonnets, 1914–15”), Piedra y cielo (1919; “Stones and Sky”), Poesía, en verso, 1917–1923 (1923), Poesía en prosa y verso (1932; “Poetry in Prose and Verse”), Voces de mi copla (1945; “Voices of My Song”), and Animal de fondo (1947; “Animal at Bottom”). A collection of 300 poems (1903–53) in English translation by Eloise Roach was published in 1962.
His literary influence on Puerto Rican writers strongly marks the works of Giannina Braschi
, René Marqués
, and Manuel Ramos Otero
. The library at the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras features the "Sala Juan Ramón y Zenobia", a collection of many of Jiménez's personal belongings and personal library, as well as his wife's.
A quotation from Jiménez, "If they give you ruled paper, write the other way", is the epigraph
to Ray Bradbury
's novel Fahrenheit 451
.
The name of Juan Ramón Jiménez is familiar to students at the University of Maryland
, the language building of which is named for the poet.
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
in 1956. One of Jiménez's most important contributions to modern poetry was his advocacy of the French concept of "pure poetry."
Biography
Jiménez was born in Moguer, near HuelvaHuelva
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 149,410 inhabitants. The...
, in Andalucia, on 24 December 1881. He studied law at the University of Seville
University of Seville
The Universidad de Sevilla or University of Seville, in English, is a top-ranked European university in Seville, Spain. Founded under the name of Colegio Santa María de Jesús in 1505, the University of Seville, with a student body of over 50,000, is one of the top-ranked universities in the country...
, but he declined to put this training to use. He published his first two books at the age of eighteen, in 1900. The death of his father the same year devastated him, and a resulting depression led to his being sent first to France, where he had an affair with his doctor's wife, and then to a sanatorium in Madrid staffed by novitiate nuns, where he lived from 1901 to 1903. In 1911 and 1912, he wrote many erotic poems depicting romps with numerous females in numerous locales. Some of them alluded to sex with novitiates who were nurses. Eventually, apparently, their mother superior discovered the activity and expelled him, although it will probably never be known for certain whether the depictions of sex with novitiates were truth or fantasy.
The main subjects of many of his other poems were music and color, which, at times, he compared to love or lust.
He celebrated his home region in his prose poem about a writer and his donkey called Platero y Yo (1914). In 1916 he and Zenobia got married in the United States. Zenobia became his indispensable companion and collaborator.
Upon the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, he and Zenobia went into exile in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, where he settled in 1946. Jiménez was hospitalized for eight months due to another deep depression. He later became a Professor of Spanish Language and Literature at the University of Maryland, College Park. The university later named a building on campus and a living-and-learning writing program in his honor. He was also a professor at the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, Florida. While living in Coral Gables he wrote: "Romances de Coral Gables".
In 1956, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
; three days later, his wife died of ovarian cancer. Jiménez never got over this loss, and he died two years afterwards, on 29 May 1958, in the same clinic where his wife had died. Both of them are buried in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Legacy
Although he was primarily a poet, Jiménez' prose work Platero y yo (1917; "Platero and I") sold well in Latin America, and in translation won him popularity in the USA. He also collaborated with his wife in the translation of the Irish playwright John Millington SyngeJohn Millington Synge
Edmund John Millington Synge was an Irish playwright, poet, prose writer, and collector of folklore. He was a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival and was one of the cofounders of the Abbey Theatre...
's Riders to the Sea (1920). His poetic output during his life was immense. Among his better known works are Sonetos espirituales 1914–1916 (1916; “Spiritual Sonnets, 1914–15”), Piedra y cielo (1919; “Stones and Sky”), Poesía, en verso, 1917–1923 (1923), Poesía en prosa y verso (1932; “Poetry in Prose and Verse”), Voces de mi copla (1945; “Voices of My Song”), and Animal de fondo (1947; “Animal at Bottom”). A collection of 300 poems (1903–53) in English translation by Eloise Roach was published in 1962.
His literary influence on Puerto Rican writers strongly marks the works of Giannina Braschi
Giannina Braschi
Giannina Braschi is a Puerto Rican writer. She is credited with writing the first Spanglish novel YO-YO BOING! and the poetry trilogy Empire of Dreams , which chronicles the Latin American immigrant's experiences in the United States...
, René Marqués
René Marques
René Marqués was a renowned Puerto Rican short story writer and playwright.-Early years:Marqués was born, raised and educated in the city of Arecibo...
, and Manuel Ramos Otero
Manuel Ramos Otero
Manuel Ramos Otero was a Puerto Rican writer. He is widely considered to be the most important openly gay twentieth-century Puerto Rican writer who wrote in Spanish, and his work was often controversial due to its sexual and political content...
. The library at the main campus of the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras features the "Sala Juan Ramón y Zenobia", a collection of many of Jiménez's personal belongings and personal library, as well as his wife's.
A quotation from Jiménez, "If they give you ruled paper, write the other way", is the epigraph
Epigraph (literature)
In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional...
to Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
's novel Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 is a 1953 dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury. The novel presents a future American society where reading is outlawed and firemen start fires to burn books...
.
The name of Juan Ramón Jiménez is familiar to students at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
, the language building of which is named for the poet.