Feel the thought
Read the pages of this article and enjoy the fascinating literary work of Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno in the Student Residence (1914)Unamuno House-Museum, Salamanca University
A member of the so-called Generation of 98, Miguel de Unamuno developed a large variety of literary genres. He wrote novels, poetry, essays, theater, travel literature … In 1914, he even wrote a piece entitled Mist (Niebla) for which he conceived his own style: the nivola.
After achieving great success outside of Spain, his work was translated into different languages, and he was nominated for a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1935. An author of extraordinary talent, his exceptional skills as a writer and storyteller are integral in the rest of his intellectual activities, both in academics, but also as a politician and journalist, to which he dedicated much of his life.
1897: Peace at War
In 1897, Unamuno's first novel, Peace at War (Paz en la Guerra) was published. The author would say that it reflected "the perfume of the deepest memories of my life, and of the life of the town where I was born and raised; this is the revelation of history to me, and with it, art."
1905: The Life of Don Quixote and Sancho
Written one year before it was published, The Life of Don Quixote and Sancho (Vida de Don Quijote y Sancho) is Unamuno's personal vision of Cervantes' work, transforming it into a type of holy book. Unamuno's idea of Quixote as a sort of Spanish Christ was perfectly depicted in one of his drawings.
1907: Poems
In 1907, Unamuno published Poems (Poesías), which included his Ode to Salamanca (Oda a Salamanca), a beautiful poem consisting of 26 verses dedicated to the city where he lived from 1891.
In the depths of my heart, I keep
your strong soul; when I die,
my golden Salamanca,
keep my memory.
"I think the most typical, the most novel, the most original, the most personal of everything I've done in literature are my poems."
1913: Tragic Sense of Life
After his son Raimundín's death at the age of six, Unamuno suffered an existential crisis, and in 1913 published Tragic Sense of Life (Del Sentimiento Trágico de la Vida en los Hombres y en los Pueblos). The work is one of his most interesting philosophical essays, along with The Agony of Christianity (La Agonía del Cristianismo).
1914: Mist
In 1914, Mist (Niebla) was released. Unamuno defined the work as a nivola, a term he used to disassociate it from the realist trend. It narrates the existential dilemmas of Augusto Pérez. The author appears in the plot, to inform the protagonist that he is a fictional character.
Photographic composition with origami figuresUnamuno House-Museum, Salamanca University
Shaping ideas
Miguel de Unamuno wrote all of his works by hand, almost always on small sheets of paper, using quills that he made himself from nibs attached to bamboo stalks. He sometimes used a typewriter to write letters, but only for special occasions.
1917 | Abel Sánchez, A Story of Passion
The first edition of Abel Sánchez, A Story of Passion (Abel Sánchez, Una Historia de Pasión) was published, with an original drawing by the writer on the cover. The novel developed Unamuno's interpretation of the story of Cain and Abel, personified in two friends with radically different personalities.
1920: The Christ of Velázquez
Unamuno was very devoted to the image of The Christ of Velázquez (El Cristo de Velázquez). In 1920, he dedicated a collection of poems to him, composed in free verse. In his bedroom, he kept a reproduction of the work, drawn in charcoal and white chalk, gifted to him by its creator, the painter Gregorio Prieto.
What do you think about, my dear dead Christ?
Why does that veil of dark night
from your abundant black head of
hair from Nazareth fall over your face?
1921: Aunt Tula
Aunt Tula (La Tía Tula) may be Unamuno's most famous novel. Published in 1921, it deals with specifically female issues; the decision whether to have children, and the desire for independence. Although these topics were controversial in Spain at the time, it was very successful outside the country, where it was translated into different languages.
Banquet of the International Congress of the Pen Club (May 28, 1925)Unamuno House-Museum, Salamanca University
The Pen Club
In 1925, while in Paris, Unamuno was invited to the International Congress of the Pen Club, where a huge banquet was thrown. Among the guests were Luigi Pirandello and Jean Cassou, his French translator. The three of them appear in the photograph.
1928–1936: Spiritual Anthology
The Anthology (Cancionero) is a collection of Unamuno's most private feelings, in verse. It contains more than 1,700 poems. The first was written in Hendaye, on February 26, 1928; the last was dated December 28, 1936, three days before his death. It was not published until 1953.
Miguel de Unamuno at the Liceo theater (February 1930)Unamuno House-Museum, Salamanca University
Pure theater
Within the literary creations of Miguel de Unamuno, theater was a secondary pursuit. Despite his interest in dramatic works, he never became a popular playwright. The Sphinx (La Esfinge), The Bandage (La Venda), Fedra, and The Other (El Otro) are some of his most well-known titles.
1931: Saint Manuel Bueno, Martyr
Published for the first time on March 13, 1931, in the journal Today's Novel (La Novela de Hoy), the book Saint Manuel Bueno, Martyr (Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr) deals with Unamuno's great obsessions around faith and immortality. It was inspired by a legend about Lake Sanabria, in Zamora, a place that Unamuno was very fond of.
Portrait of Miguel de Unamuno (1931)Unamuno House-Museum, Salamanca University
An elusive Nobel
Thanks to his prestige and influence as a universal author, in 1935 Unamuno was considered for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Perhaps due to the political convulsions in Europe at the time, in the end he did not win the prize, and in fact the prize was not awarded at all.
Miguel de Unamuno in Hendaye (1928)Unamuno House-Museum, Salamanca University
An immortal author
Prolific novelist, intimate poet, remarkable playwright, provocative essayist, inquisitive columnist: Unamuno is a literary reference point for all time. The interesting topics he covered means that people continue to read his work, and he is still the object of exhaustive research.
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