Everything about Ana Mar A Matute totally explained
Ana Maria Matute (born
28 July 1926) is an internationally acclaimed author. She is one of the strongest voices from the
posguerra, or period immediately following the
Spanish Civil War, and is considered a spokesperson for her generation.
Biography
Matute was born in
Barcelona,
Spain, the second of five children in a conservative middle class family. Her father, Facundo Matute, owned an umbrella factory and has been credited with inspiring his daughter's creativity. Matute spent a considerable amount of time in
Madrid during her childhood as well, but few of her stories are set there.
When she was only four years old, she almost died of an illness, and was taken to live with her grandparents in San Mansilla de la Sierra, a small town in the mountains, for a period of convalescence. Matute says that she was profoundly influenced by the villagers whom she met during her time there. This influence can be seen in such works as those published in the 1961 anthology
Historias de la Artamila ("Stories about the Artamila", all of which deal with the people that Matute met during her recovery). Settings reminiscent of that town are also often used as settings for her other work.
She was almost ten years old when the
Spanish Civil War broke out in
1936, and this conflict is said to have had the greatest impact on Matute's writing. She considered not only "the battles between the two factions, but also the internal aggression within each one"
. The war resulted in
Francisco Franco's rise to power, starting in 1936 and escalating until
1939, when he took control of the entire country. Franco established a
dictatorship which lasted thirty-six years, until his death in
1975. The violence brought on by the war continued through much of his reign. Since Matute matured as a writer in this
posguerra period under Franco's oppressive regime, some of the most recurrent themes in her works are
violence,
alienation, misery, and especially the loss of
innocence.
She married Ramon Eugenio de Goicoechea, also a writer, on 17 November
1952, and the couple had a son, Juan Pablo, to whom Matute dedicated various children's stories. The couple divorced in
1965. Because of the laws of Spain, following her divorce she wasn't allowed to see her son, as the law gave full care over to her ex-husband. This caused Matute great emotional distress. However, she refused to use this as material for any of her stories.
Matute is currently a university professor. She travels in various countries, especially the
United States, as a lecturer. She is outspoken about subjects such as the benefits of emotional suffering, the constant changing of a human being, and how innocence is never completely lost. She claims that, although her body is old, she's young at heart.
Awards and Honors
- El Premio Nadal (Nadal Prize)
- El Premio Nacional de Literatura (National Literature Prize)
- El Premio de Literatura Infantil (Prize of Children's Literature)
- El Premio Planeta (Planet Prize)
- El Premio de la Critica (Critics' Prize)
- El Premio "Cafe Gijon"
Hispanic Society of America
American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
She was made a member of the RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) in 1996. She is the only female member at present and only the third woman who has been a member of the RAE in its whole history.
Select List of Works
El chico de al lado
En esta tierra
Los Abel
El arrepentido y otras narraciones
Pequeño teatro
Los hijos muertos
Fiesta al Noroeste
Historias de la Artamila
Algunos muchachos
The semiautobiographical trilogy Los mercaderes:
- Primera memoria
- La trampa
- Los soldados lloran de noche
Luciérnagas
Olvidado rey Gudú
Aranmanoth (novel, 2000)
El árbol de oro
Los Chicos
Rafael
El ausente
Bernardino
La Conciencia
El Salvamento
Navidad para CarnavalitoFurther Information
Get more info on 'Ana Mar A Matute'.
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