Galician Poet and Translator

Galicia Literature Day is dedicated to him in 2014

He was born in Guitiriz (Galicia)

He was born on 19 February 1914

He went to school in Guitiriz and when he was 17, he moved to the Seminar in Mondoñedo.He became a teacher. He taught English in a private school : Leon XII in Vilagarcía de Arousa.

He married Maria Teresa Zubizarreta Bengoechea

They had three children (Jose Mari, Maite and Iñigo)

He moved to Madrid. He lived in Madrid until his retirement.

He wrote his first poems when he was very young.

He won several poetry awards for example: “Juegos Florales en Betanzos” in 1946.

He published a lot of poems in different magazines.

“Penélope” is his most famous poem.

“Nimbos” is a collection of 32 poems

He wrote unpublished poems in Galego, Spanish, Latin, German and mainly, French.

He translated some poems from other languages into Spanish and Galego.

He also translated a few Spanish and Galego poems into other languages for example English.

Of Beauty or Love I don’t sing,

Beauty is a vain ornament

Which will soon fade,

And Love is but a dark shade.

OCTAVIA

—Oh, is Love but a dark shade?

—That, and nothing else.

The flowers with which you’re crowning

Proudly your head as a goddess—

How soon you’ll see that they are

Only ash

OCTAVIA

—Why, are the flowers only ash?

—That, and nothing else.

In your present blooming happiness,

Can you tell me what is happiness,

Can you tell me?

OCTAVIA

—Like a passing wind is happiness?

—Yes, it’s only a wind, my child,

Nothing else!

After young, passionate days,

When you’ve left behind a thousand

Disenchantments,

You’ll find but air, shades, emptiness—

Nothing else, my dear child,

Nothing else!SP >ENRamón de Campoamor

XI. The

Vanity of

BeautyTo

Octavia

He translated Ian Fleming’s novels about James Bond

He died on 2 October 1990. He was 76 years old.

IMAGES AND INFORMATION TAKEN FROM GOOGLE IMAGE

Teteg66