Ezequiel González Mas facts for kids

Ezequiel González Mas (born July 20, 1919 – died October 15, 2007) was a Spanish historian, poet, and writer. He was especially known for his deep knowledge of Miguel de Cervantes and his famous book, Don Quixote. He also worked as an art critic.

A Young Life in Spain

Ezequiel González Mas was born in Madrid, Spain, on July 20, 1919. He finished high school in 1936. Soon after, he joined the Republican army in Alicante during a difficult time in Spain's history. Because he had poor eyesight, he was assigned to the music band. Sadly, he was seriously injured during a bombing.

In 1939, he returned to Madrid. After the war, he faced challenges and difficulties. He started publishing his poems in the magazine of the Complutense University of Madrid, where he later returned to study. He also wrote a paper about a French writer named Chateaubriand. This paper helped him get a scholarship to study in Paris at the Sorbonne.

Learning and Meeting Famous People

While in Paris, Ezequiel studied French literature. He met many famous thinkers and artists, including Jean-Paul Sartre, André Malraux, Albert Camus, and the painter Henri Matisse. Meeting these important people helped him broaden his understanding of art and culture.

After returning to Madrid, he studied philosophy and literature at the university. He eventually earned a degree in Romance studies, which focuses on languages and cultures that came from Latin. He then began teaching privately. He gave talks at the Ateneo de Madrid, a famous cultural center. There, he became friends with other writers like Antonio Buero Vallejo and Miguel Labordeta.

One of his friends, Francisco García Pavón, remembered how Ezequiel helped them:

It was Ezequiel who put us in touch with the old masters. He was the best guide to literary tourism. How many dozen literature students did he introduce and took home to Pío Baroja, Luis Ruiz Contreras, José Gutiérrez Solana, Azorín...!

Ezequiel also helped start a book collection called La Botella en el Mar. He was a favorite student of famous scholars like Dámaso Alonso and José Camón Aznar. He even used to visit the Museo del Prado, a famous art museum, with José Camón Aznar. In the late 1940s, he worked as a secretary for Luis Ruiz Contreras.

Between 1949 and 1950, he taught at a high school in Piedrahíta, a town in the mountains. There, he wrote three poems called Tres Elegías. Only a hundred copies were printed to avoid problems with the government's censorship at the time.

Life and Work in Ecuador

In 1952, Ezequiel felt limited by the cultural situation in Spain. Through a friend, he got a job as a literature professor at the University of Guayaquil in Ecuador. In Ecuador, he met other professors and thinkers. He also taught at the University of Cuenca. Later, he became the dean (head) of the Faculty of Letters at the University of Guayaquil.

He was often a judge for literary awards. From 1956 to 1957, he wrote a column about books for the newspaper La Nación. In 1958, he earned his doctorate degree in Philosophy and Letters from the University of Cuenca. He also collected his poems from his newspaper column into a book called Museo Privado. In 1959, he published an essay about the writers Sartre and Camus. He continued writing poetry, publishing Nivel del sueño in 1960.

His Famous Work on Don Quixote

Perhaps his most famous work is El Quijote. Invitación a la locura (Don Quixote: Invitation to Madness). This book was so popular that it sold out in just one month!

Ezequiel González Mas was very busy. He taught at different university departments, including Philosophy, Law, and Diplomacy. In 1961, he became a member of the House of Ecuadorian Culture. He also directed the magazine of the University of Guayaquil.

He later became a professor of literature at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras.

Return to Guayaquil and Major Works

He returned to Guayaquil in 1964. This was the year he started his biggest project: the huge History of Spanish Literature (Historia de la Literatura Española). He began with the first volume, which covered the Middle Ages. This work eventually grew to five volumes. It is known for its detailed research and excellent biographies of writers.

By 1965, he was back at the University of Guayaquil. In 1966, he was called back to Puerto Rico, and the next year, he went to Mayagüez. There, he directed the magazine Atenea for the University of Puerto Rico.

Spain recognized his work and appointed him Honorary Vice Consul. In 1968, the first volume of his History of Spanish Literature was published. This book showed that he was one of the best experts in Spanish literature. The second volume, about the Renaissance, came out in 1973. The third volume, about the Baroque period, was also published that year. In 1973, he also published El retrato literario y otros motivos, a collection of critical essays. He later published studies on Pío Baroja (1974) and Juan Ramón Jiménez (1981) and participated in many international conferences.

Later Life and Legacy

Ezequiel González Mas retired in 1984 while in Puerto Rico and decided to return to Guayaquil. He was made a member of the Institute of Hispanic Culture and an honorary member of several Spanish societies. In 1997, he became a member of the Hispano-American Academy of Cádiz. Because of this, he returned to Spain after 45 years away. He gave a speech there about the writer José Enrique Rodó. He visited Seville, Madrid, and Cádiz, meeting his many nephews. He also visited his sick brother in Genoa.

Among his other poetry works, he wrote seven sonnets dedicated to the famous painter El Greco.

Major works

• Siete Sonetos al Greco, Madrid, 1944.
• Sonetos al Greco y a Van Gogh. Valencia: Tip. Moderna, 1947.
• Tres elegías Madrid, 1951.
• Oratorio marino, Guayaquil, 1955
• La generación del 98 y América [Guayaquil]: Departamento de Publicaciones, 1958.
• Museo privado, Guayaquil, 1958
• Sartre y Camus; el nuevo espíritu de la literatura francesa. [Guayaquil] Universidad de Guayaquil - Departamento de Publicaciones, 1959.
• Nivel del sueño, Guayaquil, 1960
• El "Quijote", invitación a la locura, Guayaquil: [Artes Gráficas Senefelder] 1960.
• Historia de la literatura española (1968-2005), 5 vols.
  • I. Época Medioeval, siglos X al XV (Río Piedras: Editorial de La Torre, 1968)
  • II. Renacimiento, siglo XVI (Río Piedras: Editorial de La Torre, 1973)
  • III. Barroco, siglo XVII. (Río Piedras: EDUPR, 1989)
  • IV. Edad Moderna, siglos XVIII y XIX. (Barcelona: Promociones y Publicaciones Universitarias PPU, 2005)
  • V. Los Contemporáneos, siglo XX. (Río Piedras: EDUPR, 2005)
• El retrato literario y otros motivos, Mayagüez: Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1973.
• "Pío Baroja y la novela de folletín", en VV. AA., Pío Baroja, coord. por Javier Martínez Palacio, Madrid: Taurus, 1974, págs. 165-175
• José Enrique Rodó y España Cádiz: Real Academia Hispano-Americana, 1997.

See also

In Spanish: Ezequiel González Mas para niños