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José María Pemán

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José María Pemán
Born
José María Pemán y Pemartín

(1897-05-08)8 May 1897
Cádiz, Spain
Died19 July 1981(1981-07-19) (aged 84)
Cádiz, Spain
Seat i of the Real Academia Española
In office
20 December 1939[a] – 19 July 1981
Preceded byEmilio Cotarelo [es]
Succeeded byJosé García Nieto
Director of the Real Academia Española
In office
1 January 1938 – July 1940
Preceded byRamón Menéndez Pidal
Succeeded byFrancisco Rodríguez Marín
In office
7 December 1944 – December 1947
Preceded byMiguel Asín Palacios
Succeeded byRamón Menéndez Pidal

José María Pemán y Pemartín (8 May 1897 in Cadiz – 19 July 1981, Ibid.) was a Spanish journalist, poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, and monarchist intellectual.

Biography

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Originally a student of law, he entered the literary world with a series of poetic works inspired by his native Andalusia (De la vida sencilla, A la rueda, rueda, El barrio de Santa Cruz, and Las flores del bien). In the 1930s he became a journalist. He was elected to seat i of the Real Academia Española on 7 December 1939, he took up his seat on 20 December 1939. He was the director of the royal academy from 1939 to 1940 and 1944 to 1947.[1]

Pemán often blurred literary genres, and developed a unique style that may be described as equidistant between classicism and modernism, not unfamiliar to readers of ABC and El Alcázar.

As a dramatist, he wrote historical-religious verse (El divino impaciente and Cuando las Cortes de Cádiz y Cisneros), plays based on Andalusian themes (Noche de levante en calma), and comical costume dramas (Julieta y Romeo and El viento sobre la tierra).

Pemán adapted many classical works (including Antigone, Hamlet, and Oedipus). He displayed his narrative skill in a series of novels and short stories (including Historia del fantasma y doña Juanita, Cuentos sin importancia, and La novela de San Martín). He was also a noted essayist.

In 1955 he received the Mariano de Cavia prize for journalism. In 1957, he won the March de Literatura prize. He was the personal advisor to the Count of Barcelona from 1969 until the title's dissolution. In 1981, a few months before his death he was named Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Pemán was one of the few prominent intellectuals to support Francisco Franco and the Falangist movement. This ensured his professional success during and after the Civil War, but damaged his international reputation.

Pemán wrote a set of unofficial, popular lyrics for the Marcha Real, which Franco had reinstated as Spain's national anthem in 1939 in its original form as a purely instrumental piece, despite some popular misapprehensions concerning the official status of Eduardo Marquina's lyrics. Despite never being published in the BOE (Official State Bulletin), Pemán's lyrics continued in use during the Transition period by a few who remained nostalgic for the Franco era.

Selected filmography

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Notes

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  1. ^ Elected on 7 December 1939

References

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  1. ^ "José María Pemán y Pemartín - letra i". Real Academia Española (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 May 2023.
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