Antonio Machado facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Antonio Machado
Born	Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz (1875-07-26)26 July 1875 Seville, Spain
Died	22 February 1939(1939-02-22) (aged 63) Collioure, France
Occupation	Poet Professor of French
Language	Spanish
Genre	Poetry
Notable works	Soledades, Campos de Castilla
Spouse	Leonor Izquierdo (m. 1909; died 1912)

Antonio Machado (born July 26, 1875 – died February 22, 1939) was a famous Spanish poet. He was a key member of a group of writers called the Generation of '98. This group wanted to explore Spain's problems and identity through their art.

Antonio Machado's poems started with a modern style. But then, his writing became more personal and symbolic. He wrote about human feelings and also about deep thoughts on life. As one writer said, Machado "spoke in verse and lived in poetry."

About His Life

Antonio Machado was born in Seville, Spain. His brother, Manuel, was born a year before him. Their family moved to Madrid in 1883. Both brothers went to a special school there. Antonio found his love for literature during these years.

While studying in Madrid, he took different jobs, even working as an actor. In 1899, he and Manuel went to Paris. They worked as translators for a French publisher. In Paris, Antonio met many important writers. These included French poets and other figures like Rubén Darío and Oscar Wilde. These meetings made him decide to become a poet.

In 1901, his first poems were published in a magazine. His first poetry book, Soledades, came out in 1903. He kept changing and adding to this collection. In 1907, the final version was published as Soledades and Galerías. Otros Poemas.

That same year, Machado became a French Professor in Soria. There, he met Leonor Izquierdo. She was the daughter of the people who owned his boarding house. They got married in 1909. He was 34, and Leonor was 15.

In 1911, Antonio and Leonor moved to Paris. Machado studied French literature and philosophy there. But Leonor became very ill with tuberculosis. They had to return to Spain. Leonor died on August 1, 1912. This happened just weeks after his book Campos de Castilla was published.

Machado was very sad after Leonor's death. He left Soria, the city that had inspired his poems. He never went back. He moved to Baeza, in Andalusia, and stayed there until 1919. In Baeza, he wrote new poems about Leonor's death. These were added to a new edition of Campos de Castilla in 1916. His poems became simpler after this time.

From 1919 to 1931, Machado taught French in Segovia. He moved there to be closer to Madrid, where his brother Manuel lived. The brothers often met on weekends. They worked together on plays, which became very popular.

In 1932, he became a professor in Madrid. He also wrote articles for a magazine called Octubre.

When the Spanish Civil War started in July 1936, Machado was in Madrid. The war separated him from his brother Manuel forever. Machado had to leave Madrid with his elderly mother and uncle. They went to Valencia, then to Barcelona in 1938. As the war ended, they had to cross the border into France.

Antonio Machado died in Collioure, France, on February 22, 1939. This was just three days before his mother passed away. In his pocket, his last poem was found. It was called Estos días azules y este sol de infancia. Antonio Machado is buried in Collioure. Leonor is buried in Soria.

On his way to Collioure in December 1938, he wrote a famous line: "For the strategists, for the politicians, for the historians, all this will be clear: we lost the war. But at a human level I am not so sure: perhaps we won."

His Poetry

Antonio Machado moved away from very complex poetry. He started writing about real life and society. Like some French poets, he first wrote about his own feelings and memories. But then, he began to look at Spain's history and people. He did this with understanding but also with an honest eye.

His first important poetry book was Soledades in 1903. This book showed many personal ideas that would be in his later work. In Soledades, Galerías. Otros poemas (1907), his unique voice became clear. This voice influenced later poets like Octavio Paz. Machado's poems often have a soft, sad feeling. This can be felt even when he describes simple things. He wrote about old gardens, parks, or fountains, often through memories or dreams.

After his first period of personal poetry, he started to write about the "two Spains." This referred to the different groups fighting in the country. In 1912, he published "Campos de Castilla" (Fields of Castile). This book had poems celebrating the beauty of the Castilian countryside. Just as his own feelings showed conflict, his poems also showed the divisions in Spain. He used stories like the Cain and Abel Bible story to show how parts of Spain fought each other.

The book also included short, thoughtful poems. These were like popular songs or sayings. They were called "Proverbios y Cantares" (Proverbs and Songs).

In 1917, more poems were added to "Campos". These included poems about his young wife's death. There were also new "Proverbios y Cantares". He also wrote "Elogios" (Praises) dedicated to people who had influenced him. These included Rubén Darío and Juan Ramón Jiménez.

Machado's later poems often describe the common people of Spain. He wrote about their feelings, customs, and future. He used basic myths and repeated patterns of group behavior. He explored these ideas in Campos de Castilla. His poems used descriptions of places to make strong points. These points were about the social and moral conditions in Spain.

His next book, "Nuevas canciones" (New Songs), came out in 1924. This marked the last period of his work. His complete poems, Poesías Completas, were published in 1938. This included Poesias de Guerra (Poems of War). It also had El crimen fue en Granada (The crime took place in Granada). This was a sad poem for Federico García Lorca.

Machado's phrase "the two Spains" became very famous. It refers to the political divisions that led to the Civil War.

Major Publications

• Soledades (1903)
• Soledades. Galerías. Otros poemas (1907)
• Campos de Castilla (1912)
• Poesías completas (1917)
• Nuevas canciones (1924)
• Poesías completas (1936, fourth edition)
• Juan de Mairena (1936)

Translations into English (selected poems)

• Times Alone: Selected Poems of Antonio Machado. Robert Bly (translator). Wesleyan. 1982. ISBN 978-0819560810. https://archive.org/details/timesaloneselect00mach. Dual language edition.
• Border of a Dream: Selected Poems of Antonio Machado. Willis Barnstone (translator). Copper Canyon Press. 2003. ISBN 978-1556591983. Dual language edition.
• The Dream Below the Sun: Selected Poems of Antonio Machado. Willis Barnstone (translation), John Dos Passos (introduction). Crossing Press. 1981. ISBN 978-0895940476. https://archive.org/details/dreambelowsun00mach. Dual language edition.
• Antonio Machado: Selected Poems. Alan S. Trueblood (translation). Harvard University Press. 1988. ISBN 978-0674040663. OCLC 490064076.
• Antonio Machado: Solitudes & Other Early Poems. Michael Smith & Luis Ingelmo (translation). Shearsman Books. 2015. ISBN 978-1848613911. OCLC 899975241.

Images for kids

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  Statue of Antonio Machado on Calle San Pablo in Baeza, Jaén.

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  Machado's grave at Collioure cemetery

See also

In Spanish: Antonio Machado para niños