Literature by Galician authors
Encyclopedia
The literature written by Galician authors has been developed in both Galician
and Spanish
languages. The earliest works written in Galician language are from the early 13th-century trovadorismo tradition. In the Middle Ages
, Galego-português (Galician-Portuguese
) was a language of culture, poetry (troubadours) and religion throughout not only Galicia and Portugal
but also Castile
.
After the separation of Portuguese and Galician, Galician was considered provincial and was not widely used for literary or academic purposes. It was with the Rexurdimento
("Rebirth"), in the mid-19th century that Galician was used again in literature, and then in politics.
For a more extensive list of Galician language writers, see Día das Letras Galegas
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
languages. The earliest works written in Galician language are from the early 13th-century trovadorismo tradition. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Galego-português (Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese
Galician-Portuguese or Old Portuguese was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle Ages, in the northwest area of the Iberian Peninsula. It was first spoken in the area bounded in the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and the Douro River in the south but it was later extended south...
) was a language of culture, poetry (troubadours) and religion throughout not only Galicia and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
but also Castile
Castile (historical region)
A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...
.
After the separation of Portuguese and Galician, Galician was considered provincial and was not widely used for literary or academic purposes. It was with the Rexurdimento
Rexurdimento
The Rexurdimento was a period in the History of Galicia during the 19th century. Its central feature was the revitalization of the Galician language as a vehicle of social and cultural expression after the so-called séculos escuros , in which the dominance of Castilian Spanish was nearly complete...
("Rebirth"), in the mid-19th century that Galician was used again in literature, and then in politics.
Main authors in both Galician and Spanish
- Alfonso X of CastileAlfonso X of CastileAlfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
- Rosalía de CastroRosalía de CastroMaría Rosalía Rita de Castro , was a Galician romanticist writer and poet.Writing in the Galician language, after the Séculos Escuros , she became an important figure of the Galician romantic movement, known today as the Rexurdimento , along with Manuel Curros Enríquez and Eduardo Pondal...
- Padre FeijooBenito Jerónimo Feijóo e MontenegroFriar Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro was a Spanish monk and scholar noted for encouraging scientific and empirical thought in an effort to debunk myths and superstitions....
- Manuel MurguíaManuel MurguíaManuel Murguia was a Galician journalist and historian who created the Real Academia Galega. He was one of the main figures in Galician Rexurdimento movement. He is also remembered as Rosalía de Castro's husband, publisher and main supporter.-Life:...
- Manuel RivasManuel RivasManuel Rivas is a Galician writer, poet and journalist. He began his career in some Spanish newspapers like El Ideal Gallego, La Voz de Galicia, El Pais, and was the sub-editor of Diario 16 in Galicia...
- Álvaro CunqueiroÁlvaro CunqueiroÁlvaro Cunqueiro Mora was an Galician writer. He is the author of many works in both Galician and Spanish, including Merlín e familia...
- Manuel Curros EnríquezManuel Curros EnríquezManuel Curros Enríquez was a Galician writer and journalist in the Galician language, and is considered to be one of the leading figures of Galician culture and identity.-Early life:...
- Eduardo PondalEduardo PondalEduardo María González-Pondal Abente was a Spanish poet, who wrote in both Spanish and GalicianOf Hidalgo origin Pondal was the youngest of a family of seven. From 1884 onwards he studied Latin in a school in Vilela de Nemiña which belonged to his cleric relative, Cristobal Lago...
- Vicente RiscoVicente RiscoVicente Martínez Risco Agüero was a Galician intellectual of the 20th Century. He was a founder member of Xeración Nós, and among the most important figures in the history of Galician literature. He is well regarded for his writings on Galician nationalism, as well as a contributor to the Galician...
- Xohán Vicente Viqueira
- Xesús Ferro Couselo
- Aurelio Aguirre Galarraga
- Celso Emilio FerreiroCelso Emilio FerreiroCelso Emilio Ferreiro Mínguez , born in Celanova, Galicia, was a Galicianist activist, writer, and political journalist.-Early years:...
- Rafael Dieste
- Francisco Añón
- Eduardo Blanco Amor
Main Authors in Galician
- MendinhoMendinhoMendinho, also Meendinho, Mendiño and Meendiño, was a medieval Iberian poet.Nothing is known about Mendinho except by inference. Scholars generally assume from the reference to the shrine of San Simión that he was Galician...
- Xurxo BorrazásXurxo BorrazásXurxo Borrazás Fariña, born in Carballo in 1963, is a Galician writer. He earned a degree in English philology from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. At this time, he began to write poetry, and then continued writing narrative fiction. He has translated Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller ...
- Martín CodaxMartín CodaxMartín Codax or Martim Codax was a Galician medieval jogral , possibly from Vigo, Galicia in present day Spain. He may have been active during the middle of the thirteenth century, judging from scriptological analysis...
- Alfonso Daniel Rodríguez CastelaoCastelãoThere are two association football stadiums nicknamed Castelão:*Castelão , located in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil*Castelão , located in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil-Other:...
- Fermín Bouza Brei
- Carlos Casares Mouriño
- Suso de ToroSuso de toroXesús Miguel "Suso" de Toro Santos is a Spanish writer. A modern and contemporary arts graduate, he has published more than twenty novels and plays in Galician. He is a television scriptwriter and regular press and radio contributor....
- Xosé Neira Vilas
- Padre Sarmiento
- Antón Vilar PonteAntón Vilar PonteAntón Vilar Ponte was born in Viveiro in 1881 and died in A Coruña in 1936. He was one of the most important galicianists before the civil war. As a journalist he worked in A Nosa Terra, Nós, La Voz de Galicia, El Pueblo Gallego, and El Noroste....
- Luís SeoaneLuís SeoaneLuis Seoane was a lithographer and artist. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on June 1, 1910, of Galician immigrants, he spent much of his childhood and youth in Galicia . He was educated in A Coruña...
- Dario Xoan Cabana
- Xohán de CangasXohán de CangasJohan de Cangas was a jograr or non-noble troubadour, probably active during the thirteenth century. He seems to have been from—or associated with -- Cangas de Morrazo, a small town on Pontevedra, Galicia . Only three of his songs survive...
- Ánxel Fole
For a more extensive list of Galician language writers, see Día das Letras Galegas
Día das Letras Galegas
Galician Literature Day is a public holiday observed in Galicia, Spain. Introduced by the Royal Galician Academy in 1963 it is a celebration of the Galician language and its literature. This celebration has taken place on May 17 since 1963...
Main Authors in Spanish
- Ramón del Valle-InclánRamón del Valle-InclánRamón María del Valle-Inclán y de la Peña , Spanish dramatist, novelist and member of the Spanish Generation of 98, is considered perhaps the most noteworthy and certainly the most radical dramatist working to subvert the traditionalism of the Spanish...
- Camilo José CelaCamilo José CelaCamilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquis of Iria Flavia was a Spanish novelist and short story writer. He was awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature "for a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability".-Biography:Cela published his...
(Nobel Prize for Literature, 1989) - Emilia Pardo BazánEmilia Pardo BazánEmilia Pardo Bazán was a Spanish author and scholar from Galicia.-Life:...
- Concepción ArenalConcepción ArenalConcepción Arenal was a Spanish feminist writer and activist.Born in Ferrol, Galicia, she excelled in literature and was the first woman to attend university in Spain...
- Gonzalo Torrente BallesterGonzalo Torrente BallesterGonzalo Torrente Ballester was a Spanish Galician writer in Spanish language. He was born in Serantes, Ferrol, Galicia, and received his first education there, subsequently attending the universities of Santiago de Compostela and Oviedo.Although primarily a novelist, he also published journalism,...
- Wenceslao Fernández FlórezWenceslao Fernández FlórezWenceslao Fernández Flórez was a popular Spanish journalist and novelist of the early 20th century. Throughout his career, he retained an intense fondness for the land of his birth.- Early life and career :...
- Benito Vicetto PérezBenito Vicetto PérezBenito Vicetto Pérez was a Galician journalist, historian, playwright and novelist.As a historian, his main work is the Historia de Galicia . He wrote stories, comedies and stories in Spanish, as well as three poems in Galician language....
- Nicomedes Pastor Díaz
- Jacinto Salas y Quiroga
- Juan Bautista Alonso
- Blanca AndreuBlanca Andreu-Life:She grew up in Orihuela, where her family still resides, and attended El Colegio de Jesus-Maria de San Agustin, followed by studies in philology in Murcia. At age 20, she moved to Madrid without formally completing her education...
- Antonio Francisco de Castro e Iglesias
Other Authors
- Ignacio RamonetIgnacio RamonetIgnacio Ramonet is a Spanish journalist and writer.He was the editor-in-chief of Le Monde diplomatique from 1991 until March 2008....
. Works in Spanish and French. - Federico García LorcaFederico García LorcaFederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
. The poet from GranadaGranadaGranada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
wrote "Six Galician Poems" in Galician language.