Concha Zardoya facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Concha Zardoya
Born	María Concepción Zardoya González 14 November 1914 Valparaíso, Chile
Died	21 April 2004(2004-04-21) (aged 89) Majadahonda, Spain
Pen name	Concha de Salamanca
Education	University of Madrid
Genre	Poetry

María Concepción Zardoya González, known as Concha Zardoya, was a famous poet and writer from Chile. She was born on November 14, 1914, and passed away on April 21, 2004.

Concha Zardoya wrote almost 40 books of poetry. She also won many awards for her writing. When she was 17, she moved from Chile to Spain. She later lived in the United States for about 30 years. There, she taught Spanish literature at big universities like Yale University. She also wrote stories for children and even movie scripts! Sometimes, she used the pen name Concha de Salamanca.

Concha Zardoya's Early Life

Concha Zardoya was born in Valparaíso, Chile. Her parents were from Spain. She had some health challenges, including osteoporosis and asthma. She finished high school in Valparaíso in 1930.

Moving to Spain and Studying

In 1932, when Concha was 17, her family moved to Spain. They lived in a few different cities before settling in Madrid. She studied at the University of Madrid from 1934 to 1936. She even met famous Chilean poets like Pablo Neruda there.

Her studies were stopped when the Spanish Civil War began. During the war, she moved to Valencia. She became interested in helping people and worked for an organization called Cultura Popular. This group set up libraries for soldiers and workers. Concha even read her poems on the radio during this time.

Her Amazing Writing Career

Concha Zardoya's brother, Alfonso, sadly died during the civil war. After this, she started writing poetry. Her first poems were published in a magazine in 1937.

After the war, she went back to Madrid. In the early 1940s, she worked as a teacher, translator, and seamstress. She taught Spanish at a school in Madrid.

In 1944, she published her first book, Cuentos del antiguo Nilo (Tales of the Ancient Nile). She used the name Concha de Salamanca for this book. She also wrote movie scripts and stories for young people. In 1945, she traveled to the United States to give talks. She also translated the works of the American poet Walt Whitman.

Her first poetry book, Pájaros del Nuevo Mundo, came out in 1946. She continued to publish many more poetry collections. She also wrote a movie script about the famous painter Francisco Goya. Concha translated other writers' works too.

In 1947, she earned a degree in modern languages. Her poetry book Dominios del llanto was a runner-up for a big poetry award, the Premio Adonáis de Poesía.

Teaching in the United States

Concha Zardoya moved to the United States in 1948. She taught Spanish literature at the University of Illinois. She also earned her doctorate degree there. Her special project was about how Spain was seen in American poetry.

After that, she taught at many other universities. These included Tulane University, Yale University, Indiana University Bloomington, and University of California, Berkeley. She won another award for her stories in Havana in 1949.

Concha was good friends with the poet Miguel Hernández. She wrote a biography about him in 1955. That same year, she won the Boscán Poetry Prize for her book Debajo de la luz. Overall, Concha Zardoya published almost 40 poetry books in her life!

From 1966 to 1974, she focused on writing essays. These were about Spanish and American literature. She wrote about modern Spanish poetry and the history of North American literature. She also wrote regularly for cultural magazines.

Later Life and Retirement

Concha Zardoya retired in 1977 and moved back to Spain. She kept writing poetry. In 1980, she became the head of the Association of Friends of Miguel Hernández. She also won the Café Marfil Poetry Prize for her book Ritos, cifras y evasiones.

Concha's poems covered many different topics. Sometimes they talked about how people act. Other times, they focused on small things, like a fan. Her book Los ríos caudales was a tribute to a group of Spanish poets called the Generation of '27.

She also wrote many books for children. Some of these include En la isla de Pascua (1985), Cuentos sin edad (1989), and Caramurú y la anaconda (1992). Her last poetry book, Ronda del arco iris, was published in 2004. It had 33 short poems just for children.

Concha Zardoya passed away on April 21, 2004, at her home in Majadahonda, Spain. A public library in Majadahonda is named after her to honor her memory.

Awards She Won

Concha Zardoya received many important awards for her writing:

• Premio Boscán de Poesía for Debajo de la luz (1955)
• Premio Fémina de Poesía for El corazón y la sombra (1975)
• Premio Café Marfil de Poesía for Ritos, cifras, y evasiones (1980)
• Premio Ópera Óptima for Manhattan y otras latitudes (1983)
• Premio Prometeo de Poesía for Altamor (1988)

Selected Works

Here are some of Concha Zardoya's well-known books:

• Pájaros del Nuevo Mundo (1946)
• Dominios del llanto (1947)
• Los signos (1954)
• El desterrado ensueño (1955)
• Miguel Hernández. Vida y obra. Bibliografía. Antología (1955)
• Mirar al cielo es tu condena (1957)
• La casa deshabitada (1959)
• Elegías (1961)
• Corral de vivos y muertos (1965)
• Hondo sur (1968)
• Poesía española del siglo XX (1974)
• El corazón y la sombra (1977)
• Manhattan y otras latitudes (1983)
• Retorno a Magerit (1983)
• En la isla de Pascua (1985)
• Ritos, cifras, y evasiones (1985)
• No llega a ser ceniza lo que arde (1985)
• Altamor (1986)
• Cuentos sin edad (1989)
• Patrimonio de ciegos (1992)
• Caramurú y la anaconda (1992)
• El don de la simiente (1993)
• Sintonimias del adiós (2002)
• Alrededores míos (2003)
• Ronda del arco iris (2004)

See also

In Spanish: Concha Zardoya para niños