Camilo José Cela
Encyclopedia
Camilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquis of Iria Flavia (kaˈmilo xoˈse ˈθela; 11 May 1916 – 17 January 2002) was a Spanish
novelist and short story writer. He was awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature
"for a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability".
), when he was 26, in 1942. Pascual Duarte has trouble finding validity in conventional morality and commits a number of crimes, including murders, for which he feels nothing. In this sense he is similar to Meursault in Albert Camus
's novel The Stranger
. This novel is also of particular importance as it played a large part in shaping the direction of the post-war
Spanish novel.
He published two travel books Viaje a la Alcarria (Journey to La Alcarria, 1948), and Del Miño al Bidasoa (From Minho to Bidasoa
, 1952).
Cela's best known work, (The Hive) was published in 1951, featuring more than 300 characters and a style showing the influence of both Spanish realism
(best exemplified by Miguel de Cervantes
and Benito Pérez Galdós
) and contemporary English- and French-language authors, such as Joyce
, Dos Passos
, and Sartre. Cela's typical style—a sarcastic, often grotesque, form of realism—is exemplified in . It should be also noted that, as with some of his other works in this period, was first published in Argentina
, as Franco
's Roman Catholic Church
-affiliated government banned it because of the perceived immorality of its content. Official censors expelled him from the Press Association, meaning his name could no longer appear in the printed media. Nevertheless, Cela remained loyal to the Franco regime, even working as a spy for the Spanish secret police and reporting on the activities of dissident groups.
From the late 1960s, with the publication of , Cela's work became increasingly experimental. In 1988, for example, he wrote (Christ versus Arizona), which tells the story of a duel in the OK Corral in a single sentence that is more than a hundred pages long.
In 1957 he was appointed a member of the Real Academia Española
. Cela was also created Marquis of Iria Flavia by King Juan Carlos I
.
He was appointed Royal Senator in the Constituent Cortes
, where he exerted some influence in the wording of the Spanish Constitution of 1978
.
In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
for a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability.
In his later years he was infamous for his scandalous outbursts: he boasted in an TVE interview with Mercedes Milá
about his capability to absorb a litre of water via his anus, offering to demonstrate.
He had already scandalized Spanish society with his ("Secret Dictionary", 1969–1971), a dictionary of slang and taboo words.
He described the Spanish Cervantes Prize as "covered with shit". Subsequently, he was awarded the prize in 1995.
In 1994, he was awarded the Premio Planeta
. Some question the objectivity of the awards, and winners on occasion have refused to accept it.
In recognition of his contributions in literature, Cela was ennobled on 17 May 1996 by King Juan Carlos I
, who gave Cela the hereditary title of Marqués de Iria Flavia (English
: Marquis of Iria Flavia) in the nobility of Spain
. On his death the marquisate passed to his son Camilo José Cela Conde.
on 17 January 2002 at the Hospital Cemtro in Madrid
, aged 85. He was laid to rest in the parish cemetery of Santa María de Adina.
His will was contested because he favoured his widow and second younger wife, Marina Castaño, over his son Camilo José Cela Conde from a previous marriage.
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Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
novelist and short story writer. He was awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
"for a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability".
Biography
Cela published his first novel, (The Family of Pascual DuarteThe Family of Pascual Duarte
The Family of Pascual Duarte is a 1942 novel written by Spanish Nobel laureate Camilo José Cela. The first two editions created an uproar and in less than a year it was banned. A new Spanish edition was allowed in 1946....
), when he was 26, in 1942. Pascual Duarte has trouble finding validity in conventional morality and commits a number of crimes, including murders, for which he feels nothing. In this sense he is similar to Meursault in Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
's novel The Stranger
The Stranger (novel)
The Stranger or The Outsider is a novel by Albert Camus published in 1942. Its theme and outlook are often cited as examples of existentialism, though Camus did not consider himself an existentialist; in fact, its content explores various philosophical schools of thought, including absurdism, as...
. This novel is also of particular importance as it played a large part in shaping the direction of the post-war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Spanish novel.
He published two travel books Viaje a la Alcarria (Journey to La Alcarria, 1948), and Del Miño al Bidasoa (From Minho to Bidasoa
Bidasoa
The Bidasoa is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the small town of Oronoz-Mugairi in the province of Navarre, the river actually results from the merge of several streams near the village Erratzu, with...
, 1952).
Cela's best known work, (The Hive) was published in 1951, featuring more than 300 characters and a style showing the influence of both Spanish realism
Literary realism
Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...
(best exemplified by Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
and Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós was a Spanish realist novelist. Considered second only to Cervantes in stature, he was the leading Spanish realist novelist....
) and contemporary English- and French-language authors, such as Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, Dos Passos
John Dos Passos
John Roderigo Dos Passos was an American novelist and artist.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dos Passos was the illegitimate son of John Randolph Dos Passos , a distinguished lawyer of Madeiran Portuguese descent, and Lucy Addison Sprigg Madison of Petersburg, Virginia. The elder Dos Passos...
, and Sartre. Cela's typical style—a sarcastic, often grotesque, form of realism—is exemplified in . It should be also noted that, as with some of his other works in this period, was first published in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, as Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
-affiliated government banned it because of the perceived immorality of its content. Official censors expelled him from the Press Association, meaning his name could no longer appear in the printed media. Nevertheless, Cela remained loyal to the Franco regime, even working as a spy for the Spanish secret police and reporting on the activities of dissident groups.
From the late 1960s, with the publication of , Cela's work became increasingly experimental. In 1988, for example, he wrote (Christ versus Arizona), which tells the story of a duel in the OK Corral in a single sentence that is more than a hundred pages long.
In 1957 he was appointed a member of the Real Academia Española
Real Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
. Cela was also created Marquis of Iria Flavia by King Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
.
He was appointed Royal Senator in the Constituent Cortes
Constituent Cortes
Constituent Cortes is the description of Spain's parliament, the Cortes, when convened as a constituent assembly.In the 20th century, only one Constituent Cortes was officially opened , and that was the Republican Cortes in 1931.The Cortes in 1977 enacted the new Spanish constitution...
, where he exerted some influence in the wording of the Spanish Constitution of 1978
Spanish Constitution of 1978
-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...
.
In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
for a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability.
In his later years he was infamous for his scandalous outbursts: he boasted in an TVE interview with Mercedes Milá
Mercedes Milá
María Mercedes Milá Mencos is a Spanish television presenter and journalist, most notable for her work on Spain's Telecinco's Gran Hermano, the Spanish version of the reality television series Big Brother.- Biography :...
about his capability to absorb a litre of water via his anus, offering to demonstrate.
He had already scandalized Spanish society with his ("Secret Dictionary", 1969–1971), a dictionary of slang and taboo words.
He described the Spanish Cervantes Prize as "covered with shit". Subsequently, he was awarded the prize in 1995.
In 1994, he was awarded the Premio Planeta
Premio Planeta
The Premio Planeta de Novela is a Spanish literary prize, awarded since 1952 by the Spanish publisher Grupo Planeta to an original novel written in Spanish . It is one of about 16 literary prizes given by Planeta....
. Some question the objectivity of the awards, and winners on occasion have refused to accept it.
In recognition of his contributions in literature, Cela was ennobled on 17 May 1996 by King Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
, who gave Cela the hereditary title of Marqués de Iria Flavia (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Marquis of Iria Flavia) in the nobility of Spain
Spanish nobility
Spanish nobles are persons who possess the legal status of hereditary nobility according to the laws and traditions of the Spanish monarchy. A system of titles and honours of Spain and of the former kingdoms that constitute it comprise the Spanish nobility...
. On his death the marquisate passed to his son Camilo José Cela Conde.
Death
Cela died from heart diseaseHeart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
on 17 January 2002 at the Hospital Cemtro in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, aged 85. He was laid to rest in the parish cemetery of Santa María de Adina.
His will was contested because he favoured his widow and second younger wife, Marina Castaño, over his son Camilo José Cela Conde from a previous marriage.
Ancestry
External links
- Camilo José Cela Foundation
- BBC obituary
- Biography of Camilo José Cela
- Photos
- The Nobel Foundation has a site on him, including speeches, biography and bibliography.
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