Félix de Azúa is a Spanish writer considered one of the most prominent exponents of XNUMXth century literature. He has stood out as a poet, novelist, and essayist; facets in which he has shown a dark and even nihilistic style. During his career he has managed to win several important awards, such as the Herralde de Novela award and the Caballero Bonald International Essay award.
As well has maintained his professional career close to teaching and journalism. In 2011, he published his article "Against Jeremías" in the newspaper El País, with which he obtained the César González-Ruano recognition of Journalism. For 2015 he entered the select group of members of the Royal Spanish Academy, where H.
Brief biography of the author
The writer Félix de Azúa was born on Sunday April 30, 1944 in the Spanish city of Barcelona. After finishing high school, entered the University of Barcelona, where he graduated as a graduate in Philosophy and Letters. Years later, in the same house of studies, he obtained the highest university academic degree: Doctor of Philosophy.
Laboral life
At the beginning of the 80s, he worked as a professor in the Chair of Philosophy and Sciences at the University of the Basque Country. Years later, taught classes in Aesthetics and Theory of Arts at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Later, he directed the Cervantes Institute in Paris (1993-1995). He currently collaborates with some Spanish written media, such as The Newspaper of Catalonia y The country.
Literary career of Félix de Azúa
Poetry
He began in the literary world as a poet through the publication of: Otter stocks (1968) the first of his nine poems. Since then he has been considered part of the "newest" generation; not in vain, in 1970 it was included in the anthology Nine brand new Spanish poets. The Catalan author has been characterized by his closed and cold lyrics, with themes about emptiness and nothingness.
Poetic work of the author
- Otter stocks (1968)
- The veil on the face of Agamemnon (1966-1969) (1970)
- Edgar in Stéphane (1971)
- Lime tongue (1972)
- Pass and seven songs (1977)
- Poetry Anthology (1968-1978) (1979)
- farra (1983)
- Poetry Anthology (1968-1989) (1989)
- Last Blood Anthology (Poetry 1968-2007) (2007)
Novels
In 1972, the writer presented his first narrative: The Jena Lessons; from there he has published a total of 9 works belonging to this genre. Among his works as a novelist stands out Diary of a humiliated man (1987) with which he received the Herralde de Novela award that same year. Through his pen, the Spanish has captured a style in which satirism and irony prevail.
Narrative work
- The Jena Lessons (1972)
- The suspended lessons (1978)
- Last lesson (1981)
- Mansura (1984)
- Story of an idiot as told by himself or The content of happiness (1986)
- Diary of a humiliated man (1987)
- Flag change (1991)
- Too many questions (1994)
- Decisive moments (2000)
Tests
The author is considered one of the essayists most prominent in Spain; Throughout his career he has produced more than 25 books in this didactic genre. Part of his recognition came in 2014 with the Caballero Bonald International Essay Award, thanks to his work: Paper autobiography (2013). His last installment in this format was: Third act (2020)
Some books by Félix de Azúa
Story of an idiot as told by himself or The content of happiness (1986)
It is a novel that takes place in Spain in the mid-twentieth century, shortly after the Civil War ended. The protagonist makes a retrospective of his entire life, from childhood to adulthood. Its main purpose is to evaluate happiness in each of these stages, in addition to considering other precepts, such as: religion, love and sexual relationships; politics, among others.
When reviewing some photographs from when he was a child, he will come across one where he is shown smiling, which anyone could interpret as joy. But, that's when this begins to doubt about this exegesis, differing before the search for happiness of the human being. As if it were a laboratory experiment, he will rule out the different situations one by one to confirm his theory.
Diary of a humiliated man (1987)
It is a black comedy set in Barcelona, which describes the story of a man over 40 years old, who narrates his life experiences in the first person. For him, banality is the only thing that gives meaning to human existence, a hypothesis that he captures in various memories throughout the plot. These are divided into three fragments: "A Banal Man", "The Dangers of Banality" and "Kill a Dragon".
In the first two segments the protagonist's family background and his experiences in some Barcelona neighborhoods are narrated. While there, he will meet a mobster whom he will end up working with after gaining his trust. In the last fragment, the four-year-old will be immersed in an environment of self-destruction, from which his boss will try to save him.
Flag change (1991)
It's a novel staged in the Basque Country in the 30s, which is narrated in the form of a will. As the protagonist, it presents a bourgeois, who, believing himself a patriot, becomes obsessed with the search for a plane to attack the enemy alone. The main character will have to debate between being faithful to his homeland or becoming the “traitorous” hero to defeat the adversary.
As you face your own bewilderment, you will also have to face a host of betrayals. A Navarrese lover, an atrocious gudari, a psychopathic priest and a Falangist lawyer will be part of this story. At the beginning, the plot develops with a somewhat slow and confusing rhythm, but progressively accelerates to show at the end a puzzle where all the pieces fit together perfectly.
The author confesses in an interview to the newspaper The country, who made the novel by joining two real stories. One, about the father of his first formal girlfriend, a Republican and nationalist gentleman who became obsessed with investing his money in attacking Franco. And the other, the drama of an Italian diplomat he met 15 years later, who was in the negotiations to hand over the Basque Country to Italy.
Last blood (Poetry 1968-2007) (2007)
This collection of poems presented in 2007 encompasses almost forty years of the author's poetic work, which also includes other unpublished compositions. In this book you can see the evolution and unique style of the writer, the one that surprised all readers in the 70s. The anthology contains emblematic poems, which had never been reissued until then.
Paper autobiography (2013)
It is an essay in which the author gives a tour through his experiences in the different literary facets. Between the lines he describes his beginnings as a poet, his steps through the novels and the difficulties of the essay. Likewise, he explains his foray into journalism, a genre that he considers to be the most successful with respect to the current reality in which we live.
With this post, the author seeks to give his opinion on how all genres of literature have evolved little by little over time, especially in the last century. Azúa presents many real characters who intervened in these stages of his career, without involving his personal life.
