Camilo José Cela

Camilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquis of Iria Flavia (Spanish pronunciation: [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".^[1]

Biography

Cela published his first novel, La Familia de Pascual Duarte (The Family of Pascual Duarte), 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, La Colmena (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 La Colmena. It should be also noted that, as with some of his other works in this period, La Colmena 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

From the late 1960s, with the publication of San Camilo 1936, Cela's work became increasingly experimental. In 1988, for example, he wrote Cristo versus Arizona (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.^[4]

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.^[5] He had already scandalized Spanish society with his Diccionario secreto ("Secret Dictionary", 1969–1971), a dictionary of slang and taboo words.

He described the Spanish Cervantes Prize as "covered with shit".^[6] 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.

Death

Cela died from heart disease 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.

Ancestry

References

External links

• Camilo José Cela Foundation
• Valerie Miles (Summer 1996). "Camilo José Cela, The Art of Fiction No. 145". Paris Review. http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1396/the-art-of-fiction-no-145-camilo-jos-cela. 
• BBC obituary
• Biography of Camilo José Cela
• Photos
• The Nobel Foundation has a site on him, including speeches, biography and bibliography.