José Bergamín Gutiérrez (1895-1983) was a Spanish writer who stood out for his poetry, essays and drama. He was characterized by being an astute lawyer and by his vast knowledge of literature. The aesthetic qualities of his work include it within the Generation of 27.
Bergamín's literary work was defined as being original, brilliant, and full of concepts. Rose to fame in 1923 with the publication of the book The rocket and the star, where he presented an argument loaded with sayings, with which he tried to reach the reader more easily and be a closer writer.
The life of the writer went through the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the Spanish Civil War, and exile. In fact, it was outside his homeland that he belatedly began his poetic activity. A long time later he was able to return to his country and dedicated himself to writing on issues related to the situation of the nation..
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José was born in the city of Madrid on December 30, 1895, he came from a large family, and of good economic status. He was the son of Francisco Bergamín García, politician and minister during the Bourbon Restoration process, and Rosario Gutiérrez. He had to be the youngest of thirteen siblings.
Coming from a wealthy family gave Bergamín a good education. From an early age he was influenced by his father's political activity. From his mother he inherited faith and religiosity.
Once he finished his high school studies, he enrolled at the Central University of Madrid to study Law. It was at university time when he began to take his first steps in the world of literature through the articles he published in the magazine Index.
Having served as a columnist in Index, Directed by the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez, it created a good friendship between them, just like the one he had with Miguel de Unamuno.
As for the writer's membership in the Generation of '27, some scholars bring him closer to Novecentismo. However, José Bergamín was one of its creators; participated in the edition and publication of the first texts. The author always preferred to be called "Generation of the Republic".
José Bergamín rejected the government of Primo de Rivera, he was on the side of republican ideas. His position was expressed during a political speech in Salamanca. During that time he held administrative positions and continued his literary activity.
He was rector of insurance in the Ministry of Labor in 1931. Two years later he founded and was in the direction of the magazine Cruz y Raya, which was characterized by its authenticity and freedom of expression for many authors. In addition, in the dictatorship he found love; married Rosario Arniches.
As for Bergamín's role in the Civil War of 1936, he was a radical and blunt citizen. In some of his writings, such as "The Blue Monkey", he used ironic language against some personalities, and encouraged to finish with some rivals.
The writer held the post of cultural attaché for his country in Paris, and was also president of the Alliance of Antifascist Intellectuals. In 1937 he was in charge of organizing the International Congress of Writers for the Defense of Culture. His literary activity at that time was recognized.
José Bergamín left Spain when Franco assumed power. From 1939 to 1947 he lived in Mexico, where he created the Seneca publishing house. He also founded the magazine Spain Pilgrim, which served as a bridge for authors, writers and poets forced into exile.
Later he went to live for less than a year in Venezuela, the country where his brother, the architect Rafael Bergamín, lived. Then he went to Uruguay, where he lived for nine years, from 1945 to 1954, and then finally he went to France, where he stayed until 1958..
All the time that the writer spent in exile was of intense literary activity. In 1958 he returned to his country for four years, and left again. In 1970 it was his definitive return. He supported the independence movement of the Basques, continued writing, and died on August 28, 1983 in Fuenterrabía..
Bergamín's work was broad and dense, in terms of content. Although he sought to be understood by the vast majority of his readers using a close and entertaining language, the depth of his verses, stanzas and paragraphs, according to the literary genre in which he is read, is undeniable. Below is a list of his works by categories:
- The rocket and the star (1923).
- Characters (1926).
- Head to birds (1934).
- The slightest idea of Lope (1936).
- The soul in a thread (1940).
- Behind the cross: terrorism and religious persecution in Spain (1941).
- The muffled voice (1945).
- Hellish Frontiers of Poetry (1959).
- The decline of illiteracy; the importance of the devil (1961).
- To come back (1962).
- From a pilgrim Spain (1972).
- The burning nail (1974).
- Lost Thought: Pages of War and Exile (1976).
- In the end (nineteen eighty one).
- Talking head aphorisms (1983).
- Lagging rhymes and sonnets (1962).
- Little elves and couplets (1963).
- The deserted clarity (1973).
- Of the autumn and the blackbirds (1975).
- Secluded shore (1976).
- Veiled wakefulness (1978).
- Beneath the Dream: Poetic Anthology (1979).
- Waiting for the snow hand (1978-1981).
- Boulder (1984).
- Last hour (1984).
- Almost complete poetry (1984).
- Poetic anthology (1997).
- Complete poems I (2008).
The writer also excelled in the elaboration of excellent theatrical texts. The following stand out among them:
- Three Right Angle Scenes (1924).
- Philologists (1925).
- Don Lindo from Almería (1926).
- Enemy on the Run: Polypherm and Spiritual Colloquium (1925-1926).
- The star of Valencia or The triumph of the Germanías (1937).
- You have as much as you wait and Heaven suffers strength or Death mocked (1944).
- God's daughter (1945).
- The guerrilla girl (1945).
- Where will I go that does not tremble? (1951.
- Melusina and the mirror (1952).
- Antigone's blood (1956).
- The bed grave of the dream or The bedroom (1956).
- Medea the lovely (1954).
- The rooftops of Madrid (1961).
- Laughter in the bones (1973).
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